Serotonergic and BDNF genes and risk of depression after stroke

Background rphisms of serotonin transporter (5-HTT) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) have been investigated as candidate genes for post-stroke depression (PSD). Serotonin 2a receptor (5-HTR2a) genes have not been yet investigated in PSD. This study aimed to investigate whether the 5-HTT, 5-HTR2a, and BDNF genes are associated with PSD independently and/or interactively in a Korean sample with high prevalence of risk alleles. s stroke cases, depression was diagnosed using DSM-IV at 2 weeks after stroke, further classified to major PSD (N = 29), all (major plus minor) PSD (N = 77), and control (N = 199) groups. Associations between PSD and 5-HTTLPR, STin2 VNTR, 5-HTR2a 1438A/G, 5-HTR2a 102T/C, and BDNF val66met genotypes were estimated using logistic regression models, and gene–gene interactions were investigated using the generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction method. s a 1438 A/A genotype was associated with major PSD, while 5-HTTLPR s/s and BDNF met/met genotypes were associated with all PSD. There was a significant interaction between 5-HTR2a 1438A/G and BDNF val66met polymorphisms for major PSD and a borderline significant interaction between 5-HTTLPR and BDNF val66met polymorphisms for all PSD. sions arge cohort, we found evidence for serotonin and BDNF polymorphisms as susceptibility factors and gene–gene interactions between these systems for depression at 2 weeks post-stroke.