We therefore investigated whether variation in hippocampus, amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and anterior cingulate cortex volumes at age 12 years mediated a putative association between 5-HTTLPR genotype and first onset of major depressive disorder (MDD) between age 13-19 years, in a longitudinal study of 174 adolescents (48% males).
Our study included 2679 participants.Those with both the 5-HTTLPR s allele and the BDNF Met allele showed the highest risk of MD if they had previously experienced emotional (z = 2.08, p = 0.037), sexual (z = 2.19, p = 0.029) or any kind of childhood abuse (z = 2.37, p = 0.018).
This review highlights some research studying changes in the epigenetic patterns intrinsic to genes of 5-HTT and BDNF, which are related to lifelong environmental adversities, which in turn increases the risks of developing MDD.
This analysis suggests that DNA hypomethylation of the 5-HTT transcriptional control region - possibly via increased serotonin transporter expression and consecutively decreased serotonin availability - might impair antidepressant treatment response in Caucasian patients with MDD.
Serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) and norepinephrine transporter (NET182C) polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility and treatment response in major depressive disorder (MDD).