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Abstract
Background: The activity of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor, which responds to the levels of polyamines, modifies the neurotoxicity caused by ethanol. We aimed to investigate if the functionality of the spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase (SSAT1) gene could be associated with a differential risk for alcoholism. Methods: We studied a sample of 586 subjects: 104 alcohol-dependent patients, 273 patients with psychiatric disorders but without substance dependence, and 209 healthy controls. After gender stratification, the allele frequency distribution of the SSAT1 gene was compared between these three groups. Results: In females, the TC genotype was significantly more frequent in alcohol-dependent patients than in non-alcohol-dependent psychiatric controls (χ2 = 7.509 df = 2, p = 0.023). A trend was found when alcohol-dependent females were compared with the healthy control group (χ2 = 4.897 df = 2, p = 0.086). No statistical differences were found among the males. Discussion and conclusion: Gender differences in the regulation of SSAT1 gene expression may possibly be due to gender-specific effects of stress, ethanol toxicity, and/or polyamines levels. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings.
Acknowledgements
This article was supported by the National Alliance for Research of Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders (NARSAD), and by the Spanish Health Ministry (Instituto de Salud Carlos III, CIBERSAM). Dr Vaquero-Lorenzo is the recipient of a grant of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Juan de la CiervaProgramme JCI-2011-11050). Dr Baca-García is the Lilly Suicide Scholar at Columbia University. The authors thank Rosa Nunes for editorial assistance.