儿童攻击行为与COMT Val158Met及5-HTTLPR基因多态性关联分析

Association between aggressive behaviors and COMT Val158Met and 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms in children

摘要:

目的：探讨儿茶酚胺氧位甲基转移酶(COMT) 第158位密码子从缬氨酸到蛋氨酸的错义突变(Val158Met)多态性及5-羟色胺转运体（5-HTT）基因启动子区缺失/插入多态性（5-HTTLPR）是否为家庭暴力环境下儿童攻击行为的易感因素。方法：以家庭暴力环境下68例儿童作为研究对象，依据Achenbach儿童行为量表（父母卷）评分，其中24例为攻击行为高分组，44例为低分组。采用聚合酶链式反应限制性片段长度多态性（PCR-RFLP）技术，检测两组COMT Val158Met和5-HTTLPR多态性，对所得基因型和等位基因频率进行对照和关联分析。结果：攻击行为高分组与低分组COMT Val158Met多态性的各基因型差异(χ2＝1.612，P=0.447)和等位基因频率差异(χ2=1.648，P=0.119)均无统计学意义。两组5-HTTLPR多态性的各基因型差异(χ2=1.807，P=0.405)和等位基因频率差异(χ2=0.403，P=0.527)亦无统计学意义。结论：本研究结果不支持COMT Val158Met和5-HTTLPR基因多态性是儿童攻击行为产生的易感因素。提示儿童攻击行为可能是多因素共同作用的结果。

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between aggressive behaviors and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) single nucleotide polymorphism at position 158 from a valine to a methionine (Val158Met) as well as serotonin (5-HT) transporter gene linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) in children. METHODS: A total of 68 children who were exposed to domestic violence were recruited. The frequencies of genotypes and alleles of COMT Val158Met and 5-HTTLPR were examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) techniques. A comparison was conducted between 24 children with high scores of aggressive problems and 44 control children with low scores of aggressive problems according to Child Behavior Checklist (for parents).ResultsThere were no significant differences in genotypes of COMT Val158Met (χ2=1.612, P=0.447) and 5-HTTLPR (χ2=1.807, P=0.405) between the two groups. There were also no significant differences in the frequencies of alleles of COMT Val158Met (χ2=1.648, P=0.119) and 5-HTTLPR(χ2=0.403, P=0.527) in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: COMT Val158Met and 5-HTTLPR might not be the susceptible genes of children's aggression, suggesting that children's aggressive behaviors might be affected by multivariate factors.