Copyright © 2000 by Institute of Pharmacology
Polish Academy of Sciences 		Pol. J. Pharmacol., 2000, 52, 27-31
ISSN 1230-6002
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FIVE EXON 1 VARIANTS OF µ OPIOID RECEPTOR AND VULNERABILITY TO ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE
 Nicola Gscheidel*, Thomas Sander**, Birgit Wendel*, Petra Heere*, Lutz G. Schmidt**, Hans Rommelspacher***, Margret R. Hoehe*, Jerzy Samochowiec**,****,#
    * Genome Research, Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine, Robert-Rössle-Strasse 10, D-13092 Berlin, Germany,
  ** Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Benjamin Franklin, Free University of Berlin, Eschenallee 3, D-14050 Berlin, Germany,
 *** Institute of Clinical Neurobiology, University Hospital Benjamin Franklin, Free University of Berlin, Ulmenallee 32, D-14050 Berlin, Germany,
**** Department of Psychiatry, Pomeranian Medical University, Broniewskiego 26, PL 71-460 Szczecin, Poland

Five exon 1 variants of µ opioid receptor and vulnarability to alcohol dependence. N. GSCHEIDEL, T. SANDER, B. WENDEL, P. HEERE, L. G. SCHMIDT, H. ROMMELSPACHER, M. R. HOEHE, J. SAMOCHOWIEC. Pol. J. Pharmacol., 2000, 52, 27-31.

The human µ opioid receptor (hMOR) gene is a prime candidate gene responsible for addictive disorders. The present association study tested the hypothesis that hMOR exon 1 variants elicit susceptibility to alcohol dependence. We have analyzed five nucleotide changes in exon 1 of the hMOR gene. Three of them are in the 5´untranslated region of exon 1 at positions –172G/T, –111C/T and –38C/A, the remaining two variants cause amino acid substitutions: +17C/T (Ala6Val) and +118A/G (Asn40Asp). Our population-based association study included 327 German alcohol-dependent subjects and 340 ethnically matched controls. The lack of an allelic association suggests that the analyzed hMOR exon 1 variants do not contribute a common and substantial effect to the genetically determined vulnerability of alcohol dependence.

Key words: alcohol dependence, hMOR , µ opioid receptor, association, genetics
  # correspondence
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