Premium
Association of the neuronal nicotinic receptor β2 subunit gene (CHRNB2) with subjective responses to alcohol and nicotine
Author(s) -
Ehringer Marissa A.,
Clegg Hilary V.,
Collins Allan C.,
Corley Robin P.,
Crowley Thomas,
Hewitt John K.,
Hopfer Christian J.,
Krauter Kenneth,
Lessem Jeffrey,
Rhee Soo Hyun,
Schlaepfer Isabel,
Smolen Andrew,
Stallings Michael C.,
Young Susan E.,
Zeiger Joanna S.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
american journal of medical genetics part b: neuropsychiatric genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.393
H-Index - 126
eISSN - 1552-485X
pISSN - 1552-4841
DOI - 10.1002/ajmg.b.30464
Subject(s) - nicotine , single nucleotide polymorphism , addiction , nicotinic agonist , snp , genetic association , alcohol dependence , alcohol , genome wide association study , phenotype , nicotinic acetylcholine receptor , nicotine withdrawal , genetics , biology , gene , psychology , medicine , receptor , psychiatry , genotype , biochemistry
Nicotine addiction and alcohol dependence are highly comorbid disorders that are likely to share overlapping genetic components. We have examined two neuronal nicotinic receptor subunit genes (CHRNA4 and CHRNB2) for possible associations with nicotine and alcohol phenotypes, including measures of frequency of use and measures of initial subjective response in the period shortly after first using the drugs. The subjects were 1,068 ethnically diverse young adults participating in ongoing longitudinal studies of adolescent drug behaviors at the University of Colorado, representing both clinical and community samples. Analysis of six SNPs in the CHRNA4 gene provided modest support for an association with past 6 month use of alcohol in Caucasians (three SNPs with P < 0.08), but no evidence for an association with tobacco and CHRNA4 was detected. However, a SNP (rs2072658) located immediately upstream of CHRNB2 was associated with the initial subjective response to both alcohol and tobacco. This study provides the first evidence for association between the CHRNB2 gene and nicotine‐ and alcohol‐related phenotypes, and suggests that polymorphisms in CHRNB2 may be important in mediating early responses to nicotine and alcohol. J. Cell. Physiol. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.