The Interaction of LAMA2 and Duration of Illness Affects the Thickness of the Right Transverse Temporal Gyrus in Major Depressive Disorder

Gang Chen,1– 3 Lei Li,2,4 Taipeng Sun,1– 3 Chenguang Jiang,1,2 Wei Xu,1,2 Suzhen Chen,1,2 Changchun Hu,1 Yingying Yue,1,2 Tianyu Wang,1,2 Wenhao Jiang,1,2 Yonggui Yuan1,2 1Department of Psychosomatics and Psychiatry, ZhongDa Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China; 2Institute of Psychosomatics, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Medical Psychology, Huai’an NO 3 People’s Hospital, Huaian, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Sleep Medicine, The Fourth People’s Hospital of Lianyungang, Lianyungang, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Wenhao Jiang; Yonggui Yuan, Department of Psychosomatics and Psychiatry, ZhongDa Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, No. 87 Dingjiaqiao, Gulou District, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210009, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-25-83285124, Email wjiang43@outlook.com; yygylh2000@sina.comBackground: Depression is a heritable brain disorder. Laminin genes were recently identified to affect the brain’s overall thickness through neurogenesis, differentiation, and migration in depression. This study aims to explore the effects of the LAMA2’s single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), a subunit gene of laminin, on the detected brain regions of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).Methods: The study included 89 patients with MDD and 60 healthy controls with T1-weighted structural magnetic resonance imaging and blood samples for genotyping. The interactions between LAMA2 gene SNPs and diagnosis as well as duration of illness (DOI) were explored on brain measures controlled for age, gender, and site.Results: The right transverse temporal gyrus and right parahippocampal gyrus showed reduced thickness in MDD. Almost all seven LAMA2 SNPs showed significant interactions with diagnosis on both gyrus (corrected p < 0.05 or trending). In MDD, rs6569604, rs2229848, rs2229849, rs2229850, and rs2784895 interacted with DOI on the right transverse temporal gyrus (corrected p < 0.05), but not the right parahippocampal gyrus.Conclusion: The thickness of the right transverse temporal gyrus in patients with MDD may be affected by LAMA2 gene and DOI.Keywords: major depressive disorder, right transverse temporal gyrus, LAMA2, interaction