Elsevier

Neuroscience Letters

Volume 381, Issues 1–2, 10–17 June 2005, Pages 108-113
Neuroscience Letters

The GABA type A receptor α5 subunit gene is associated with bipolar I disorder

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2005.02.010Get rights and content

Abstract

Several genetic studies have revealed that bipolar disorders are linked with the chromosomal locus of 15q11–q13, where the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor α5 subunit gene (GABRA5) locates. GABA is one of the major neurotransmitters that may be involved in the pathogenesis of bipolar disorder. Five polymorphisms in the GABRA5 gene, −754C > T in the promoter region, IVS1-21G > A, IVS2-26T > A, *302C > T in 3′-UTR of exon 5, and a CA repeat polymorphism in the 3′ flanking region were examined in a Japanese population. IVS1-21G > A exhibited significant differences in the distribution of the genotype and allele frequency in bipolar I disorder patients but not in bipolar II disorder patients, compared with control subjects. The haplotype analysis showed that IVS1-21G > A/IVS2-26A > T was associated with bipolar I disorder, and the IVS1-21A/IVS2-26T haplotype was a negative risk factor for susceptibility to the disorders (odds ratio: 0.57, 95% confidence interval: 0.44–0.73). These results suggest that the GABRA5 gene may confer susceptibility to bipolar I disorder.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partly supported by the Zikei Institute of Psychiatry (Okayama, Japan). We wish to thank the participants for assisting in the collection of blood samples and clinical information.

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