Abstract
The effect of the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism on brain morphology has been investigated but remains controversial. We hypothesized that a comparison between Val/Val and Val/Met individuals, which may represent the most different combinations concerning the effects of the COMT genotype, may reveal new findings. We investigated the brain morphology using 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging in 27 Val/Val and 22 Val/Met individuals. Voxel-based morphometry revealed that the volumes of the bilateral caudate and posterior cingulate cortex were significantly smaller in Val/Val individuals than in Val/Met individuals [right caudate: false discovery rate (FDR)-corrected p = 0.048; left caudate: FDR-corrected p = 0.048; and bilateral posterior cingulate cortex: FDR-corrected p = 0.048]. This study demonstrates that interacting functional variants of COMT affect gray matter regional volumes in healthy subjects.
Highlights
Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is a methylation enzyme that facilitates dopamine degradation by catalyzing the transfer of a methyl group from S-adenosylmethionine to dopamine in the extrasynaptic spaces
The purpose of this study was to identify specific brain regions with morphological differences correlated with the COMT Val108/158Met genotype using a voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data
There were no significant differences between Val/Val individuals and Val/Met individuals with regard to the distributions of sex, age, years of education, and estimated IQ assessed using the Japanese version of National Adult Reading Test [25] (Table 1)
Summary
Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is a methylation enzyme that facilitates dopamine degradation by catalyzing the transfer of a methyl group from S-adenosylmethionine to dopamine in the extrasynaptic spaces. The COMT gene resides in the q11 region of chromosome 22 [1], where a functional missense mutation causes a single G-to-A base-pair substitution, resulting in a single nucleotide polymorphism in exon 4. This polymorphism changes codons 108/158 from methionine (Met) to valine (Val) [2]. Met/Met individuals have a 4-fold decrease in PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0142862. COMT Is Linked to the Caudate and Posterior Cingulate Cortex Volume Met/Met individuals have a 4-fold decrease in PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0142862 November 13, 2015
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