1. ¹Yu's Psychiatric Clinic, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, ROC
2. ²Division of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC
3. ³Department of Psychiatry, Veterans General Hospital-Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC
4. ⁴I-Shou University, Taiwan, ROC
5. ⁵E-DA Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, ROC
6. ⁶Kai-Suan Psychiatric Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, ROC

Correspondence: Dr T-J Chen, Department of Psychiatry, E-DA Hospital, No. 1, Yi-Da Road, Jiau-Shu Tsuen, Yan-Chau Shiang, Kaohsiung Country, Taiwan, ROC. Tel: +886 7 615 0011 ext. 2650; Fax: +886 7 615 5352; E-mail: ed100239@edah.org.tw

Received 11 October 2004; Revised 31 March 2005; Accepted 26 April 2005; Published online 1 June 2005.

Abstract

Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), a mitochondrial enzyme involved in the degradation of biogenic amines, may be implicated 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 a variable-number-tandem-repeat (VNTR) polymorphism in the promoter region of the MAOA gene in a Chinese population of 230 MDD patients and 217 controls. We also examined the association of this polymorphism and antidepressant therapeutic response in the MDD patients who underwent a 4-week fluoxetine treatment. Our results showed a significantly increased frequency of 4-repeat (4R) allele in MDD patients, especially in the female population. Furthermore, MDD female patients who were 3R homozygotes had a significantly better response to 4-week fluoxetine treatment when compared to 4R carriers (p=0.024), but there was a nonsignificant difference found in male patients (p=0.081). Since the 4R allele transcribed 2–10 times more efficiently than those with 3R allele, our findings suggest that the MAOA-uVNTR may be involved in the pathogenesis of MDD and the antidepressant therapeutic mechanisms in Chinese population, and that there may be a gender effect in this association.