Abstract:

ObjectiveTo investigate the correlation between gene polymorphism of estrogen receptor β (ERβ) and qualitative and quantitative traits of disease phenotypes of depressive disorder of perimenopausal patients. MethodsClinical data of 65 perimenopausal patients with depressive disorder and 121 healthy controls were collected. Peripheral blood samples were drawn and their DNAs were collected. Three tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs1256049, rs1271572, and rs4986938) of ERβ gene were detected by snapshot genotyping assay. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to assess the quantitative traits of disease phenotypes of perimenopausal patients with depressive disorder. SNPStats software was used to analyze the correlation between ERβ gene and qualitative and quantitative traits.ResultsThe differences of genotypes and allele distribution of three tag SNPs of ERβ gene between two groups were not statistically significant (P>0.05). The BDI scores of patients with GA genotype in locus rs4986938 were significantly lower than those of patients with other two genotypes and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). The BDI scores of patients with AA genotype in locus rs1256049 were higher than those of patients with other two genotypes and the differences were not statistically significant (P>0.05). ConclusionERβ gene may not correlate with qualitative traits of depressive disorder of perimenopausal patients, but may correlate with quantitative traits. The GA genotype in locus rs4986938 may have a protective effect that can alleviate depressive symptoms, while the A allele in locus rs1256049 may aggravate depressive symptoms.

Key words: perimenopause, depressive disorder, estrogen receptor, gene, quantitative trait