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Suicide and the serotonin transporter gene

Molecular Psychiatry volume 6, pages 127–128 (2001)Cite this article

SIR – In a recent issue of this Journal, Bondy et al1 reported a study of genetic variation at a biallelic functional polymorphism located in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) and found a significant increase in the number of suicide victims, as compared to normal living subjects, who were carriers of at least one short allele. Their data indicate that 90% of suicide victims had at least one short allele and that one third of their controls had no such alleles. They also found that homozygotes for the long variants were significantly less frequent among suicide victims.

Mounting evidence has suggested over the last years that a genetic component may increase the predisposition to suicide,2 in which it appears that deficiencies of the serotonin system play a significant role.3 The polymorphism located in the promoter region of SLC6A4 has been found to alter the transporter expression, and therefore, it is an interesting candidate gene for suicide. However, the association between suicidal behavior and the short variant of this locus seems counterintuitive, even though decreased serotonin transporter binding has been found in platelets from depressed subjects and in some postmortem brain studies of depression and suicide.4 Indeed, the short allele is associated with decreased expression of the transporter in brain cells and platelets,5 resulting in a reduction of serotonin uptake and consequent increase in serotonergic neurotransmission. In order to further explore this association, we investigated a relatively large sample of suicide completers, but failed to replicate the findings reported by Bondy et al.1

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Douglas Hospital Research Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

    D Fitch, G A Rouleau & G Turecki

  2. Suicide and Grief Laboratory, Centre de Recherche Fernand Seguin, L-H Lafontaine Hospital, Montreal, Canada

    A Lesage, M Seguin, M Trousignant & G Turecki

  3. Neurobiological Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

    C Bankelfat

Authors
  1. D Fitch
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  2. A Lesage
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  3. M Seguin
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  4. M Trousignant
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  5. C Bankelfat
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  6. G A Rouleau
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  7. G Turecki
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Correspondence to G Turecki.

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Fitch, D., Lesage, A., Seguin, M. et al. Suicide and the serotonin transporter gene. Mol Psychiatry 6, 127–128 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.mp.4000833

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