Our results provide further evidence for the involvement of <i>SLC6A4</i> rs4795541 and <i>HTR2A</i> rs6311 polymorphisms in the pathophysiology of depressive disorders in IBS patients.
Based on previous studies indicating that a single nucleotide polymorphism in the serotonin 2A receptor gene [<i>HTR2A</i> rs6311 guanine (G) vs. adenine (A)] is associated with sensitivity to emotional stimuli and several mental disorders such as depression, we predicted that the polymorphism might be associated with the effect of sharing happiness.
The T allele of the promoter variant, rs6311 (C>T), of the 5-HT2A gene has been shown to increase the 5-HT2A expression in vitro and to be associated with anxiety and depressive disorders.