Genetic variation in the 5-HT5A receptor gene in patients with bipolar disorder and major depression

In the present study, genetic variation of the 5-HT5A receptor was analyzed in patients affected by affective disorders and healthy controls. The samp le consisted of 181 patients with major depression, 88 patients with bipola r affective disorder (BP) and 157 unrelated controls (C), all of Spanish or igin. Two polymorphisms (-19G/C and 12A/T) in the 5-HT5A receptor gene were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction amplification and subsequent enzyme digestion. No genotype, allele or haplotype differences were found when we compared patients and controls. When clinical variables were considered as possible tools for detecting genetic heterogeneity, no differences were fou nd. Our results suggest that the polymorphisms analyzed in the 5-HT5A recep tor gene do not play a major role in the pathogenesis of affective disorder s. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.