TY - JOUR A1 - Witt, Stephanie H. A1 - Buchmann, Arlette F. A1 - Blomeyer, Dorothea A1 - Nieratschker, Vanessa A1 - Treutlein, Jens A1 - Esser, Günter A1 - Schmidt, Martin H. A1 - Bidlingmaier, Martin A1 - Wiedemann, Klaus A1 - Rietschel, Marcella A1 - Laucht, Manfred A1 - Wuest, Stefan A1 - Zimmermann, Ulrich S. T1 - An interaction between a neuropeptide Y gene polymorphism and early adversity modulates endocrine stress responses JF - Psychoneuroendocrinology N2 - Interindividual variability in the regulation of the human stress system accounts for a part of the individual's liability to stress-related diseases. These differences are influenced by environmental and genetic factors. Early childhood adversity is a well-studied environmental factor affecting an individual's stress response which has been shown to be modulated by gene environment interaction (GxE). Neuropeptide Y (NPY) plays a role in stress regulation and genetic variation in NPY may influence stress responses. In this study, we analyzed the association of a common variant in the NPY gene promoter, rs16147, with cortisol and ACTH responses to acute psychosocial stress in young adults from the Mannheim Study of Children at Risk (MARS), an ongoing epidemiological cohort study following the outcome of early adversity from birth into adulthood. We found evidence of a GxE interaction between rs16147 and early adversity significantly affecting HPA axis responses to acute psychosocial stress. These findings suggest that the neurobiological mechanisms linking early adverse experience and later neuroendocrine stress regulation are modulated by a gene variant whose functional relevance is documented by increasing convergent evidence from in vitro, animal and human studies. KW - GxE interaction KW - Stress KW - HPA KW - Neuropeptide Y KW - Early adversity Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2010.12.015 SN - 0306-4530 VL - 36 IS - 7 SP - 1010 EP - 1020 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Clarke, Toni-Kim A1 - Laucht, Manfred A1 - Ridinger, Monika A1 - Wodarz, Norbert A1 - Rietschel, Marcella A1 - Maier, Wolfgang A1 - Lathrop, Mark A1 - Lourdusamy, Anbarasu A1 - Zimmermann, Ulrich S. A1 - Desrivieres, Sylvane A1 - Schumann, Gunter T1 - KCNJ6 is associated with adult alcohol dependence and involved in gene x early life stress interactions in adolescent alcohol drinking JF - Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology N2 - Alcohol abuse and dependence have proven to be complex genetic traits that are influenced by environmental factors. Primate and human studies have shown that early life stress increases the propensity for alcohol abuse in later life. The reinforcing properties of alcohol are mediated by dopaminergic signaling; however, there is little evidence to indicate how stress alters alcohol reinforcement. KCNJ6 (the gene encoding G-protein-coupled inwardly rectifying potassium channel 2 (GIRK2)) is a brain expressed potassium channel with inhibitory effects on dopaminergic tone. The properties of GIRK2 have been shown to be enhanced by the stress peptide corticotrophin-releasing hormone. Therefore, we sought to examine the role of KCNJ6 polymorphisms in adult alcohol dependence and stress-related alcohol abuse in adolescents. We selected 11 SNPs in the promoter region of KCNJ6, which were genotyped in 1152 adult alcohol dependents and 1203 controls. One SNP, rs2836016, was found to be associated with alcohol dependence (p = 0.01, false discovery rate). We then assessed rs2836016 in an adolescent sample of 261 subjects, which were characterized for early life stress and adolescent hazardous drinking, defined using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), to examine gene-environment interactions. In the adolescent sample, the risk genotype of rs2836016 was significantly associated with increased AUDIT scores, but only in those individuals exposed to high levels of psychosocial stress in early life (p = 0.01). Our findings show that KCNJ6 is associated with alcohol dependence and may moderate the effect of early psychosocial stress on risky alcohol drinking in adolescents. We have identified a candidate gene for future studies investigating a possible functional link between the response to stress and alcohol reinforcement. KW - alcoholism KW - genetics KW - GIRK2 KW - stress KW - gene x environment KW - KCNJ6 Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2010.247 SN - 0893-133X VL - 36 IS - 6 SP - 1142 EP - 1148 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER -