Association of the DIO2 gene single nucleotide polymorphisms with recurrent depressive disorder

Genetic factors may play a role in the etiology of depressive disorder. The type 2 iodothyronine deiodinase gene (DIO2) encoding the enzyme catalyzing the conversion of T4 to T3 is suggested to play a role in the recurrent depressive disorder (rDD). The current study investigates whether a specific single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the DIO2 gene, Thr92Ala (T/C); rs 225014 or ORFa-Gly3Asp (C/T); rs 12885300, correlate with the risk for recurrent depression. Genotypes for these two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were determined in 179 patients meeting the ICD-10 criteria for rDD group and in 152 healthy individuals (control group) using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based method. The specific variant of the DIO2 gene, namely the CC genotype of the Thr92Ala polymorphism, was more frequently found in healthy subjects than in patients with depression, what suggests that it could potentially serve as a marker of a lower risk for recurrent depressive disorder. The distribution of four haplotypes was also significantly different between the two study groups with the TC (Thr-Gly) haplotype more frequently detected in patients with depression. In conclusion, data generated from this study suggest for the first time that DIO2 gene may play a role in the etiology of the disease, and thus should be further investigated.