Several promising genes, such as the COMT (catechol-O-methyltransferase) gene, the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4), and neuropeptide Y (NPY) suggest gene × environment interaction between genetic variants, childhood adversity, and the occurrence of PTSD and MDD, indicating an impact of these genes on resilience.
We investigated the relationships between PTSD and the dopamine D2 receptor ( DRD2) gene Taq I polymorphism and the serotonin transporter gene ( SCL6A4) polymorphisms 5-hydroxytryptamine transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) and 5-HTTVNTR in 565 adolescent earthquake survivors.
One potential risk factor for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) involves the low activity (short; s) allelic variant of the serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR), possibly due to reduced prefrontal control over the amygdala.
Life stress increases risk for developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and more prominently so in short-allele carriers of the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR).
The findings suggest that the 5-HTTLPR may have an important impact on the development of PTSD and add to the extant knowledge on understanding and treating of posttraumatic psychopathology.
Conditional indirect effects indicated stronger associations between childhood traumatic stress and lability, behavioral disinhibition, alcohol consumption, AUD symptoms, and associated conduct problems via PTSD symptoms among those with the low expression 5-HTTLPR alleles.
The study confirmed, on ethnically homogenous groups of veterans with matched combat experience, a lack of association between the PTSD symptoms severity and 5-HTTLPR or platelet 5-HT concentration.
Vulnerability to PTSD and suicidality are also linked to brain serotonin function, including polymorphisms in the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR).
We examined children's risk and resilience following a natural disaster, evaluating the role of stress, social support, and two genetic markers: the short allele of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR), and the met allele of the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF).Under high levels of hurricane exposure or hurricane-related stressors, we expected children displaying the markers would report greater symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression than children without these markers.
Moreover, these threat-related attention associations with PTSD were moderated by genetic and environmental factors, including serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) genotype.
We evaluated the role that selected variants in serotonin transporter (5-HTT), dopamine receptor 2 (DRD2) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) genes play in PTSD symptom severity in an at-risk population.
Little is known about the specificity of the interaction of serotonin transporter 5-HTTLPR genotype x trauma exposure in relation to contemporary structural models of PTSD symptomatology, which suggest that 4- or 5-factor models provide a better representation of the phenotypic expression of this disorder.
Taking into account all studies, no association was found between 5-HTTLPR and PTSD (p = .10), with evidence of between-study heterogeneity, which could be partly explained by gender differences.
We found that, as reported in our previous study, in individuals with childhood adversity, the presence of one or two copies of the S allele of 5-HTTLPR increased the risk to develop PTSD.
Childhood abuse and adult traumatic events may act synergistically in interaction with the s allele of the 5-HTTLPR to increase the risk for depressive symptoms independently from the lifetime diagnosis of PTSD.
To study the association of genetic variants within SLC6A4 with acute and posttraumatic stress symptoms in a civilian cohort with known levels of preexisting trauma and PTSD symptoms collected prior to a shared index traumatic event.