Abstract:OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between rs6267 polymorphism of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHODS: One hundred and fourteen children with ADHD and 76 normal volunteers were enrolled. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) techniques were used for detecting COMT rs6267 polymorphism. The behavioral problems were assessed by Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the COMT genotype distribution and allele frequencies between the ADHD and normal control groups. The frequencies of thinking problems (1.7±1.9 vs 1.0±0.9) and disciplinary problems (4.5±3.7 vs 2.2±1.4) in ADHD children carrying genotype G/G were significantly higher than those in children carrying G/T (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: COMT rs6267 polymorphism may not contribute to susceptibility to ADHD. However, there might be an association between rs6267 polymorphism and some clinical characters of ADHD.
[2]Rietveld MJ, Hudziak JJ, Bartels M, van Beijsterveldt CE, Boomsma DI. Heritability of attention problems in children: cross-section all results from a study of twins, age 3-12 years[J]. Am Med Genet, 2003, 117B(1): 102-113.
[3]Qian Q, Wang Y, Zhou R, Li J, Wang B, Glatt S, et al. Family-based and case control association studies of catechol-O-methyltransferase in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder suggest genetic sexual dimorphism[J]. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet, 2003, 118B(1): 103-109.
[4]Sengupta S, Grizenko N, Schmitz N, Schwartz G, Bellingham J, Polotskaia A, et al. COMT Val(108/158)Met polymorphism and the modulation of task-oriented behavior in children with ADHD[J]. Neuropsychopharmacology, 2008, 33(13): 3069-3077.
[5]Lee SG, Joo Y, Kim B, Chung S, Kim HL, Lee I, et al. Association of Ala72Ser polymorphism with COMT enzyme activity and the risk of schizophrenia in Koreans[J]. Hum Genet, 2005, 116: 319-328.
[6]Hong JP, Lee JS, Chung S, Jung J, Yoo HK, Chang SM, et al. New functional single nucleotide polymorphism(Ala72Ser) in the COMT Gene is associated with aggressive behavior in male schizophrenia[J]. Am J Med Genet Part B (Neuropsychiatr Genet), 2008, 147B(5): 658-660.
[7]American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder [M].4th ed. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association, 1994: 129-130.
[9]Lotta T, Vidqren J, Tilqmann C, Ulmanen I, Melen K, Jalkunen I, et al. Kinetics of human soluble and membrane-bound catechol O-meth yltransferase: a revised mechanism and description of the thermolabile variant of the enzyme[J]. Biochemistry, 1995, 34(13): 4202-4210.
[10]Turic D, Williams H, Langley K, Owen M, Thapar A, O'Donovan MC. A family based study of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)[J]. Am J Med Genet Part B Neuropsychiatr Genet, 2005, 133B(1): 64-67.
[11]Song EY, Paik KC, Kim HW, Lim MH. Association between catechol-O-methyltransferase gene polymorphism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in Korean population[J]. Genet Test Mol Biomarkers, 2009, 13(2): 233-236.
[12]Cheuk DK, Wong V. Meta-analysis of association between a catechol-O-methyltransferase gene polymorphism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder[J]. Behav Genet, 2006, 36(5): 651-659.
[13]Eisenberg J, Mei-Tal G, Steinberg A, Tartakovsky E, Zohar A, Gritsenko I, et al. Haplotype relative risk study of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): association of the high-enzyme activity Val allele with ADHD impulsive-hyperactive phenotype[J]. Am J Med Genet, 1999, 88(5): 497-502.
[14]Cheon KA, Jun JY, Cho DY. Association of the catechol-O-methyltransferase polymorphism with methylphenidate response in a classroom setting in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder[J]. Int Clin Psychopharmacol, 2008, 23(5): 291-298.
[15]Dempster EL, Mill J, Craig IW, Collier DA. The quantification of COMT mRNA in post mortem cerebellum tissue: diagnosis, genotype, methylation and expression[J]. BMC Med Genet, 2006, 7: 10.
[16]Strous RD, Lapidus R, Viglin D, Kotler M, Lachman HM. Analysis of an association between the COMT polymorphism and clinical symptomanology in schizophrenia[J]. Neurosci Lett, 2006, 393(2-3): 170-173.
[17]Shashi V, Keshavan MS, Howard TD, Berry MN, Basehore MJ, Lewandowski E, et al. Cognitive correlates of a functional COMT polymorphism in children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome[J]. Clin Genet, 2006, 69(3): 234-238.