Aims

To support the free and open dissemination of research findings and information on alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. To encourage open access to peer-reviewed articles free for all to view.

For full versions of posted research articles readers are encouraged to email requests for "electronic reprints" (text file, PDF files, FAX copies) to the corresponding or lead author, who is highlighted in the posting.

___________________________________________

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Association of a variant in the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor 2 gene (CHRM2) with nicotine addiction
American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics Early View 30 July 2009

Genetic factors contribute to the overall risk of developing nicotine addiction, which is the major cause of preventable deaths in western countries. However, knowledge regarding specific polymorphisms influencing smoking phenotypes remains scarce.

In the present study we provide evidence that a common single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the 5 untranslated region of CHRM2, the gene coding for the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor 2 is associated with nicotine addiction. CHRM2 was defined as a candidate gene for nicotine addiction based on previous evidence that linked variations in CHRM2 to alcohol and drug dependence.

Our data provide further evidence that variations in CHRM2 may be associated with the genetic risk of addiction in general or with certain personality traits that predispose to the development of addiction. Alternatively, variations in CHRM2 could modulate presynaptic auto-regulation in cholinergic systems and may thereby affect an individual's response to nicotine more specifically. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.


Request Reprint E-Mail: georg.winterer@uni-duesseldorf.de

________________________________________________________________________
at