Association between Serotonin-Related Polymorphisms in 5HT2A, TPH1, TPH2 Genes and Bipolar Disorder in Korean Population

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to examine the association between serotonin-related gene polymorphisms and bipolar disorder in the Korean population. In addition, we sought to explore the relationship between the clinical characteristics of bipolar patients and serotonin-related gene polymorphisms. METHODS: Inpatients with bipolar disorder (n=103) and control subjects (n=86) were genotyped for 5HT2A 1438A/G, tryptophan hydroxylase 1 (TPH1) 218 A/C, and TPH2 703G/T. We divided patients with bipolar disorder into two groups according to the presence of psychotic symptoms. The severity of their symptoms was measured using the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the genotype distributions or allelic frequencies in the three serotonergic polymorphisms between patients with bipolar disorder and normal controls. There were significant differences in genotype distributions and allele frequencies of the 5-HT2A -1438A/G polymorphism between the psychotic mania group and the non-psychotic mania group (genotype: χ(2)=7.50, p=0.024; allele: χ(2)=5.92, p=0.015). However, after Bonferroni correction this signifact difference disappeared. We did not find significant differences in the genotype distributions or allelic frequencies in the TPH1 218 A/C and TPH2 703G/T polymorphisms between the psychotic mania group and non-psychotic mania group. CONCLUSION: We failed to found the statistically significant association between three polymorphisms and bipolar disorder. However, there was a trend towards association between 5-HT2A -1438A/G polymorphism and psychotic symptom in bipolar disorder. Future research should seek to clarify this association.