Association Study of Astrocyte-Derived Protein S100B Gene Polymorphisms with Major Depressive Disorder in Chinese People

Abstract

Objective: Astroglial-derived protein S100B is known to play important roles in axonal growth, neural plasticity, and energy regulation. Disturbance of these neurodevelopmental processes is proposed as one possible etiology for mood disorder. Therefore, we performed a genetic analysis of S100B in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Method: The polymorphisms of S100B were determined by polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism in patients ( n = 152) with MDD and healthy control subjects ( n = 150). The genotypic and allelic distributions of 2 variants were analyzed in Chinese patients. Results: Two single nucleotide polymorphisms did not display significant associations with MDD. However, there were significant differences in age of onset in 3 genotypes of S100B rs9722. Significant differences in the subgroup depression (first-episode and recurrent depression) were also shown in 3 genotypes of S100B rs9722 and rs11911834 in patients and control subjects ( P < 0.05). Conclusions: Our findings did not suggest association of S100B gene polymorphisms in patients with MDD in China. We found there were differences in depressive episodes among different genotypes of S100B gene.