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Association between serotonin 2A receptor (HTR2A), serotonin transporter (SLC6A4) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene polymorphisms and citalopram/sertraline induced sexual dysfunction in MDD patients

The Pharmacogenomics Journal volume 20, pages 443–450 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

Sexual dysfunction (SD) is a troublesome adverse effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). A variety of mechanisms might be involved in the occurrence of SD but the exact mechanism is still not clear. Genetic variations among patients treated with SSRIs are strong determinants of intolerance and poor compliance. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between serotonin‐2A receptor (HTR2A) gene −1438A/G and 102T/C polymorphisms, serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) 5-HTT-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) insertion/deletion variant and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene Val66Met polymorphisms and the occurrence of SD adverse effect in major depressive disorder patients treated with citalopram (CIT) or sertraline (SERT). The result from this investigation revealed that the −1438A/G and 102T/C polymorphisms appear to be associated with the SD induced by CIT. It was also demonstrated that patients receiving SERT, carrying T allele of HTR2A or L allele of 5-HTTLPR more likely to experience SD. Most important overall finding of the study is the combined effects of −1438A/G, 102T/C, and 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms. In a logistic regression model, the occurrence of SD increased with the number of risky alleles. As compared with subjects receiving SERT with few risky (≤2) alleles, those with had 5–6 alleles had an increased SD risk. After all, according to these findings, −1438A/G, 102T/C, and 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms could be considered as promising pharmacogenetic biomarkers in CIT/SERT treatment in major depressive disorder (MDD) patients to avoid the occurrence of SD.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported, in part, by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, Ankara, Turkey (Project 109S147) and The Coordinatorship of Scientific Research Projects of Ankara University, Turkey (Project 17H0237003).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Toxicology, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey

    Merve Demirbugen Oz, Nazan Yuce Artun & H. Sinan Suzen

  2. School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey

    Bora Baskak, Tugba Kizil Ozel & Halise Devrimci Ozguven

  3. Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Toxicology, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey

    Zuhal Uckun

  4. School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Turkey

    Hatice Ozdemir

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  1. Merve Demirbugen Oz
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Correspondence to H. Sinan Suzen.

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Oz, M.D., Baskak, B., Uckun, Z. et al. Association between serotonin 2A receptor (HTR2A), serotonin transporter (SLC6A4) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene polymorphisms and citalopram/sertraline induced sexual dysfunction in MDD patients. Pharmacogenomics J 20, 443–450 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41397-019-0127-8

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