Peripheral Expression of Dopamine Genes as a Biomarker for Cocaine Addiction in Humans

Introduction: Objective measures for the severity of addiction are needed to identify and appropriately stratify patients into effective treatment groups for intervention and recovery. Our aim was to determine if blood-derived, dopamine-related biomarkers hold predictive validity in patients with cocaine use disorder (CUD).

A total of 349 participants (163 patients with moderate-to-severe CUD and 186 healthy control participants without a history of substance use disorder) were recruited for a cross-sectional case-control study in the East of England, UK. Data on individual differences in CUD-related traits, e.g., impulsivity, sensation-seeking, were collected. Measurements included mRNA transcription of dopamine-related genes (DRD2, DRD3, DRD4, and COMT) and risk alleles (rs6277, rs1800497, rs12364283, rs6280, and rs4680).

CUD patients showed elevated DRD2 mRNA in peripheral blood (B₀ = 0.43, 95% CI [0.13, 0.73], p_FDR = 0.020) and the DRD2-related rs6277 risk allele was associated with CUD diagnosis (odds ratio = 2.16, 95% CI [1.15, 4.17], p = 0.02). DRD2 mRNA levels related to self-reported impulsivity (B₀ = -0.17, 95% CI [-0.32, -0.03], p = 0.013).

Blood-based expression of DRD2 may be a useful biomarker related to CUD diagnosis and related traits.