1. ¹Yu's Psychiatric Clinic, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, ROC
2. ²Kai-Suan Psychiatric Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, ROC
3. ³Department of Psychiatry, Veterans General Hospital-Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC
4. ⁴Division of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC

Correspondence: Shih-Jen Tsai, Department of Psychiatry, Veterans General Hospital-Taipei, No. 201, Shih-Pai Road, Sec. 2, 11217, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. Tel: +886 -2 2875 7027 ext. 276; Fax: +886 -2 2872 5643; E-mail: sjtsai@vghtpe.gov.tw

Received 10 May 2002; Revised 7 January 2003; Accepted 13 January 2003; Published online 2 April 2003.

Abstract

Proinflammatory cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-1beta, are suggested to have a role in the pathogenesis of major depressive disorder (MDD) and be related to the therapeutic effects of antidepressants. To elucidate a genetic predisposition of MDD, we studied biallelic polymorphism in the promoter region (position -511) of the IL-1beta gene in 157 patients with MDD and in 112 controls. We also examined the association of this polymorphism and fluoxetine therapeutic response in 119 MDD patients who received a 4-week fluoxetine treatment. No significant difference was found in the genetic polymorphism between MDD patients and controls. However, MDD patients who were homozygous for the -511T allele of the IL-1beta gene had a trend of less severity of depressive symptoms and more favorable fluoxetine therapeutic response than -511C carriers. Further study with a larger sample is needed to clarify the role of the IL-1beta genetic polymorphisms in the symptoms and treatment effects in MDD.