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A gene–gene interaction between the vascular endothelial growth factor a and brain-derived neurotrophic factor genes is associated with psychological distress in the Taiwanese population

Authors :
Eugene Lin
Po- Hsiu Kuo
Yu- Li Liu
Albert C Yang
Shih- Jen Tsai
Source :
Taiwanese Journal of Psychiatry, Vol 33, Iss 3, Pp 155-159 (2019)
Publication Year :
2019
Publisher :
Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications, 2019.

Abstract

Background: Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), the most abundant and widely expressed neurotrophic factors in the brain, are believed to play an important rôle in depression and anxiety. In this study, we hypothesized that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the VEGFA and BDNF genes would be linked with psychological distress through complex interactions in the general population. Methods: We analyzed 7,098 Taiwanese subjects from the Taiwan Biobank. Measures of anxiety and depression were evaluated using the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4). Totally, 15 VEGFA and 43 BDNF polymorphisms were used in the genetic analysis. Results: In our analysis, an interaction was found between the VEGFA rs10434 and BDNF rs12418745 in significantly influencing depression state (p < 0.01). In addition, we found that influence of interaction existed between physical activity and VEGFA genetic variants including rs3025000, rs699947, rs833068, rs833069, rs3024998, and rs3025006 in depression state. But we found no association between 15 VEGFA genetic variants and depression state, after adjusting for age and gender. Furthermore, no VEGFA SNPs showed evidence of association with PHQ-4 scores. Conclusion: These results suggest that the VEGFA and BDNF genetic variants may contribute to psychological distress through gene-gene and gene-physical activity interactions in the general population.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
10283684 and 26662078
Volume :
33
Issue :
3
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Taiwanese Journal of Psychiatry
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.792a1a3c1a194f89b6923a53e7bbbff5
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.4103/TPSY.TPSY_30_19