The effect of dopamine D2, D5 receptor and transporter (SLC6A3) polymorphisms on the cue‐elicited heroin craving in Chinese

Abstract

Heroin dependence is resulted from the interaction between multiple genetic and environmental factors. Subjective craving is considered to be a central phenomenon, which contributes to the continuation of drug use in active abuser and the occurrence of relapse in detoxified abusers. Dopamine pathway has been implicated in the cue-elicited craving for a variety of addictive substances. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that heroin addicts carrying specific variants in dopamine-related genes would have higher levels of craving following exposure to a heroin-related cue. Craving induced by a series of exposure to heroin-related cue was assessed in a cohort of Chinese heroin abuser (n = 420) recruited from natural abstinence center at Shanghai. Significantly stronger cue-elicited heroin craving was found in individuals carrying D2 dopamine receptor gene (DRD2) TaqI RFLP A1 allele than the non-carriers (P < 0.001). Furthermore, we did not observed significant association of cue-elicited craving with the nine-repeat allelic variants in dopamine transporter gene (DAT) SLC6A3 and with the dinucleotide repeat polymorphism (DRP) 148bp allele in D5 dopamine receptor gene (DRD5). The results of our study suggest that human dopamine pathway be involved in cue-induced heroin craving, and indicate a potential genetic risk factor for persistent heroin behavior and relapse.

A neurochemical approach to valuation sensitivity over gains and losses

“…SLC6A4 intron2 VNTR: preheating step at 94.08C for 5 min, 34 cycles of denaturation at 94.08C for 30 s, reannealing at 618C for 30 s and extension at 728C for 30 s. The reaction proceeded to a hold at 728C for 10 min. The mixtures were electrophoresed on a 4% agarose gel (AMRESCO) with ethidium (Li et al 2006), 5-HTTLPR (Li et al 2007), STin2 (Li et al 2007) and DRD4 (Ding et al 2002) with Chinese sample. The observed unbalanced frequencies suggest that they result from random sampling.…”

Dopamine and glucose, obesity, and reward deficiency syndrome

“…Since that time there have been no less than 3738 (Pubmed-6-23-14) peer reviewed articles on many peripheral and central nervous system (CNS) behaviors and physiological processes. Understandably addiction or even the broader term RDS involves very complex gene × environment interaction and one cannot expect that a single gene like the DRD2 gene would have a powerful effect by itself, however, albeit many negative findings, there is still a plethora of evidence for the role of the DRD2 gene polymorphisms and a number (small sample of studies represented herein) of addictive and other reward dependent behaviors including: alcohol dependence (Pato et al, 1993; Ponce et al, 2003; Munafò et al, 2007; Smith et al, 2008; Pinto et al, 2009; Grzywacz et al, 2012; Wang et al, 2013); drug dependence (Li et al, 2004; Xu et al, 2004; Young et al, 2004; Barratt et al, 2006; Li et al, 2006; Hou and Li, 2009; Chen et al, 2011a,b; Al-Eitan et al, 2012; Jacobs et al, 2013; Lee et al, 2013; Ohmoto et al, 2013; Sullivan et al, 2013; Suraj Singh et al, 2013; Vereczkei et al, 2013; Wang et al, 2013; Clarke et al, 2014; Roussotte et al, 2014; Schuck et al, 2014); mood disorders (Vaske et al, 2009; Huertas et al, 2010; Zhu et al, 2011; Zou et al, 2012; Hettinger et al, 2012; Jutras-Aswad et al, 2012; Tsuchimine et al, 2012; Whitmer and Gotlib, 2012; Zai et al, 2012; Peciña et al, 2013; Zhang et al, 2014); rearing behaviors (Mills-Koonce et al, 2007; Bakermans-Kranenburg and van Ijzendoorn, 2011; Beaver and Belsky, 2012; Masarik et al, 2014); obesity (Spangler et al, 2004; Fang et al, 2005; Huang et al, 2005; Epstein et al, 2007; Nisoli et al, 2007; Barnard et al, 2008; Blum et al, 2008; Eny et al, 2009; Epstein et al, 2010; Mathes et al, 2010; Stice et al, 2010; van Strien et al, 2010; Jabłoński, 2011; Anitha et al, 2012; Chen et al, 2012; Winkler et al, 2012; Ariza et al, 2013; Car...…”

Influence of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Genetic Polymorphisms on the Ages of Onset for Heroin Dependence in a Chinese Population

“…Gottesman and Shields (1973) described ''endophenotypes'' as internal phenotypes discoverable by a ''biochemical test or microscopic examination''. The theories and research patterns of endophenotypes, including cue-elicited heroin craving, the ages of onset for heroin dependence, certain behavior traits, and so on, were introduced into the field of heroin research in established studies (Franke et al, 2001;Li et al, 2006;Shao et al, 2006). As one of the most complex diseases, phenotypes of the heroin dependence can be analyzed using a self-reported questionnaire, including the heroin-induced subjective responses and the process involved in dependence.…”