Relationship Between Alcohol Dependence and Neuropeptide Y (NPY) Gene Promoter Polymorphisms in A Turkish Sample

Abstract

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a protein widely expressed in the central nervous system and involved in diverse physiological processes, such as emotional regulation, nutritional behavior, and stress. In some populations, studies on alcohol dependence (AD) and the NPY gene have found that NPY variations increase alcohol consumption and thus may potentially be associated with AD. In this study, we investigated the relationship between NPY gene promoter polymorphisms and phenotypes related to alcohol use. A total of 417 male participants comprising 252 individuals with AD and 165 healthy individuals were included in this study and phenotypic data were collected. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR/RFLP) and DNA sequencing METHODS were used for genotyping the rs16147 and rs17149106 polymorphisms in the promoter region of the NPY gene. The data of 384 participants were analysed to evaluate the possible relationship between genotypes and the diagnosis of AD, family history of AD, the severity of AD using the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST), the age of onset of problematic alcohol use, the average amount of alcohol consumed per day for the last six months and the lifetime maximum alcohol consumption in one day. A significant difference was found between the AD and control groups concerning rs16147 polymorphism genotype distribution (p=0.025). No association with polymorphisms and alcohol-related phenotypes were demonstrated in the AD group. To our knowledge, this study shows for the first time in the literature that alcohol dependence is associated with NPY rs16147 polymorphism in the Turkish population.