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Nine- or fewer repeat alleles in VNTR polymorphism of the dopamine transporter gene is a strong risk factor for prolonged methamphetamine psychosis

The Pharmacogenomics Journal volume 3, pages 242–247 (2003)Cite this article

ABSTRACT

Susceptibility to drug dependence and drug-induced psychoses is influenced not only by the pharmacological effects of the drug but also by the genetic factors of the individual. To clarify the latter, we investigated the association between methamphetamine (METH) dependence/psychosis and the hDAT1 gene (SLC6A3) encoding the dopamine transporter, which is the primary site of METH activity in the brain. Four exonic polymorphisms of the hDAT1 gene, 242C/T (exon 2), 1342A/G (exon 9), 2319G/A (3′UTR), and VNTR (3′UTR) were examined. Although there was no significant difference in genotypic and allelic distribution of the four polymorphisms between all METH dependence/psychosis patients (N=124) and controls (N=160), the patients with METH psychosis lasting for 1 month or more after discontinuance of METH consumption showed a significant excess of nine- or fewer repeat alleles of the VNTR in 3′UTR of the hDAT1 gene (P=0.0054, OR=4.24, 95% CI=2.46–7.31). The present study demonstrated that the presence of nine- or fewer repeat alleles of hDAT1 is a strong risk factor for a worse prognosis of METH psychosis.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the Zikei Institute of Psychiatry (Okayama, Japan), Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and that of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology for support in part by a grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuropsychiatry, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine and Dentistry, Okayama, Japan

    H Ujike, T Katsu, A Nomura & K Nakata

  2. Japanese Genetics Initiative for Drug Abuse, Japan

    H Ujike, M Harano, T Inada, M Yamada, T Komiyama, Y Sekine, I Sora, M Iyo, T Katsu, A Nomura, K Nakata & N Ozaki

  3. Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan

    M Harano

  4. Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan

    T Inada

  5. Department of Psychiatry, Karasuyama Hospital, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    M Yamada

  6. Division of Psychiatry, National Center Hospital for Mental, Nervous and Muscular Disorders, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan

    T Komiyama

  7. Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan

    Y Sekine

  8. Department of Neuroscience, Division of Psychobiology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan

    I Sora

  9. Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan

    M Iyo

  10. Department of Psychiatry, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Houmei, Japan

    N Ozaki

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  1. H Ujike
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  2. M Harano
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  3. T Inada
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Correspondence to H Ujike.

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Ujike, H., Harano, M., Inada, T. et al. Nine- or fewer repeat alleles in VNTR polymorphism of the dopamine transporter gene is a strong risk factor for prolonged methamphetamine psychosis. Pharmacogenomics J 3, 242–247 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.tpj.6500189

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.tpj.6500189

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