A Genomewide Association Study of Citalopram Response in Major Depressive Disorder

• Published in: Biological psychiatry (1969) Vol. 67; no. 2; pp. 133 - 138
• Main Authors: Garriock, Holly A., Kraft, Jeffrey B., Shyn, Stanley I., Peters, Eric J., Yokoyama, Jennifer S., Jenkins, Gregory D., Reinalda, Megan S., Slager, Susan L., McGrath, Patrick J., Hamilton, Steven P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 15.01.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: ACCN1; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; antidepressant; Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation - therapeutic use; ARNTL; Biological and medical sciences; Bone Morphogenetic Protein 7 - genetics; citalopram; Citalopram - therapeutic use; Cluster Analysis; Depression; Depressive Disorder, Major - drug therapy; Depressive Disorder, Major - genetics; Female; Gene Frequency; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Genetics; Genome-Wide Association Study; Genotype; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Mood disorders; Neuropharmacology; Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 1, Group F, Member 1 - genetics; Odds Ratio; Pharmacogenetics; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide - genetics; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychiatric/Mental Health; Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer; Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer..., (alzheimer disease); Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychopharmacology; Sex Factors; STARD; Statistics as Topic; Treatment Outcome; UBE3C; Ubiquitin-Conjugating Enzymes - genetics; UBE3C; ACCN1; antidepressant; Genetics; STARD; citalopram; ARNTL; Mood disorder; Serotonin; Psychotropic; Depression; Reuptake inhibitor; Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor; Citalopram; Neurotransmitter; Antidepressant agent
• ISSN: 0006-3223; 1873-2402; 1873-2402
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.08.029

Antidepressant response is likely influenced by genetic constitution, but the actual genes involved have yet to be determined. We have carried out a genomewide association study to determine whether common DNA variation influences antidepressant response. Our sample is derived from Level 1 participants in the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) study, all treated with citalopram. Association for the response phenotype included 883 responders and 608 nonresponders. For the remission phenotype, 743 subjects that achieved remission were compared with 608 nonresponders. We used a subset of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; n = 430,198) from the Affymetrix 500K and 5.0 Human SNP Arrays, and association analysis was carried out after correcting for population stratification. We identified three SNPs associated with response with p values less than 1 × 10 −5 near the UBE3C gene (rs6966038, p = 4.65 × 10 −7), another 100 kb away from BMP7 (rs6127921, p = 3.45 × 10 −6), and a third that is intronic in the RORA gene (rs809736, p = 8.19 × 10 −6). These same SNPs were also associated with remission. Thirty-nine additional SNPs are of interest with p values ≤ .0001 for the response and remission phenotypes. Although the findings reported here do not meet a genomewide threshold for significance, the regions identified from this study provide targets for independent replication and novel pathways to investigate mechanisms of antidepressant response. This study was not placebo controlled, making it possible that we are also observing associations to nonspecific aspects of drug treatment of depression.