Linkage of mood disorders with D2, D3 and TH genes: a multicenter study

Background: It has been suggested that the dopaminergic system is involved in the pathophysiology of mood disorders. We conducted a multicenter study of families with mood disorders, to investigate a possible linkage with gen es coding for dopamine receptor D2, dopamine receptor D3 and tyrosine hydro xylase (TH). Methods: Twenty three mood disorder pedigrees collected within the framework of the European Collaborative Project on Affective Disorders were analyzed with parametric and non-parametric linkage methods. Various potential phenotypes were considered, from a narrow (only bipolar as affect ed) to a broad (bipolar + major depressive + schizoaffective disorders) def inition of affection status. Results: Parametric analyses excluded linkage for all the candidate genes, even though small positive LOD (Limit of Detec tion) scores were observed for TH in three families. Non-parametric analyse s yielded negative results for all markers. Conclusion: The D2 and D3 dopam ine receptors were, therefore, not a major liability factor for mood disord ers in our sample, whereas TH may play a role in a subgroup of patients. (C ) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.