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Exocytosis-related genes and response to methylphenidate treatment in adults with ADHD

Molecular Psychiatry volume 23, pages 1446–1452 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

Experimental studies have demonstrated that methylphenidate (MPH) modulates the synaptic vesicle trafficking and synaptotagmin-1 (SytI) mRNA levels. SytI is a regulatory protein of the SNARE complex, a neurotransmitter exocytosis mediator. Despite this evidence, most SNARE complex-related genes have never been evaluated in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) pharmacogenetics. This study evaluates, for we believe the first time, polymorphisms on the SNARE complex-related genes STX1A (rs2228607), VAMP2 (26bp Ins/Del) and SYT1 (rs1880867 and rs2251214) on the response to immediate-release methylphenidate (IR-MPH) in a naturalistic sample of adults with ADHD. The sample comprised 433 subjects, of which 272 (62.8%) have completed the short-term IR-MPH treatment (at least 30 days). The main outcome measure was the categorical variable of short-term response to IR-MPH based on the Swanson, Nolan and Pelham Rating Scale version 4 (SNAP-IV), and on the clinical global impression-improvement scale. Additional analyses evaluated the percentage of SNAP-IV symptom reduction for each dimension as well as short- and long- (7 years) term treatment persistence. SYT1-rs2251214 was associated with the categorical short-term response to IR-MPH (P=0.006, PFDR=0.028), and with the percentage of inattention and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms reduction (P=0.007, PFDR=0.028 and P=0.017, PFDR=0.048, respectively). SYT1-rs2251214 was also associated with short-term treatment persistence (P=0.018, PFDR=0.048), and with months of treatment (P=0.002, PFDR=0.016) in the long-term protocol. Our findings suggest that SYT1-rs2251214 presents a broad influence in IR-MPH response variability in adults with ADHD, being involved with both symptom response and treatment persistence. If such findings are replicated, SytI could represent a key element in MPH pharmacodynamics in adults with ADHD.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the subjects who kindly participated in this research. This work was supported by the following funding sources: CNPq, CAPES and FAPERGS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics, Institute of Biosciences, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    B S da Silva, R B Cupertino, D L Rovaris, J B Schuch, D B Kappel, D Müller, C E Bandeira, N R Mota & C H D Bau

  2. Adult Division, ADHD Outpatient Program, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    M M Victor, R G Karam, L A Rohde, E H Grevet & C H D Bau

  3. Department of Human Genetics and Psychiatry, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    N R Mota

  4. Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    L A Rohde & E H Grevet

  5. PPGBIOTEC - Postgraduate Program in Biotechnology, Centro Universitário Univates, Lajeado, Brazil

    V Contini

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Competing interests

EHG was on the speaker’s bureau for Novartis and Shire for the last 3 years. He also received travel awards (air tickets and hotel accommodations) for participating in two psychiatric meetings from Shire and Novartis. LAR has received grant or research support from, served as a consultant to, and served on the speakers’ bureau of Eli Lilly and Co., Janssen, Medice, Novartis and Shire. The ADHD and Juvenile Bipolar Disorder Outpatient Programs chaired by LAR have received unrestricted educational and research support from the following pharmaceutical companies: Eli Lilly and Co., Janssen, Novartis and Shire. LAR has received travel grants from Shire to take part in the 2014 APA, 2015 WFADHD and 2016 AACAP congresses. He has received royalties from Artmed Editora and Oxford University Press. The remaining authors declare no conflict of interest.

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da Silva, B., Cupertino, R., Rovaris, D. et al. Exocytosis-related genes and response to methylphenidate treatment in adults with ADHD. Mol Psychiatry 23, 1446–1452 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2017.90

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