Association of NQO1 levels and its genetic polymorphism with susceptibility to methamphetamine dependence

Abstract Background The quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) gene was involved in the pathophysiological process of illicit drugs abuse, and its polymorphisms might be associated with methamphetamine (METH) dependence susceptibility. The purpose of this study was to examine the NQO1 mRNA and protein levels and to analyze the 609C/T polymorphism (rs1800566) between METH‐dependent patients and controls. Methods A total of 392 METH‐dependent patients (cases) and 669 healthy controls (controls) were enrolled in the study. The quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR) and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to detect the relative expressions of NQO1 mRNA in PBMCs and protein levels in plasma, respectively. PCR‐restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP‐PCR) and direct‐sequencing genotyping were used to detect the alleles and genotypes of NQO1 609C/T polymorphism. Results The levels of NQO1 mRNA in cases (3.2650 ± 2.2943) was significantly higher than in controls (1.0125 ± 0.7959) (p 0.05). Conclusion The findings suggested that NQO1 might play an important role in the pathophysiological process of METH dependence, and the 609C/T polymorphism might contribute to the susceptibility to METH dependence in a Chinese Han population.