Investigating the associations between polymorphisms in the NTRK2 and NGFR genes and completed suicide in the Slovenian sample.

Abstract

The most abundant neurotrophin in the mammalian brain is brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which acts through binding to neurotrophic tyrosine kinase receptor type 2 (NTRK2) and to nerve growth factor receptor (NGFR). Our previous work showed an association of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs6265 in the BDNF gene with completed suicide in the Slavic population. Therefore, we extended the investigation to the SNPs within NTRK2 and NGFR genes and searched for associations with the completed suicide phenotype. In 775 Caucasian individuals, namely, 486 suicide completers and 289 controls, we performed genotyping of five SNPs within the NTRK2 (rs11140714, rs1147198, rs1187323, rs10780691, and rs10868235) and six SNPs within the NGFR (rs2072446, rs7219709, rs7224806, rs734194, rs741071, and rs741072) genes. We did not find evidence for an association of the SNPs studied with the phenotype either on the single marker or on the haplotype level. To our knowledge, this is the first study that has examined SNPs in the NTRK2 and NGFR genes for associations with the completed suicide phenotype. However, our findings suggest that these SNPs may not be associated particularly with completed suicide in Slovenia, although they might have a relevant informative value as the study has been carried out on a sample from a population that has one of the highest suicide rates in the world.