J Korean Med Sci.  2007 Feb;22(1):138-141. 10.3346/jkms.2007.22.1.138.

No Association between 5-HTTLPR and Harm Avoidance in Korean College Students

• Joo YH
• Oh HB
• Kim B
• Jung SH
• Chung JK
• Hong JP
• Kim CY

• KMID: 1713253
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2007.22.1.138

Abstract

There have been numerous studies on the association between 5-HTTLPR (polymorphisms in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene) and anxietyrelated personality traits, with conflicting results. In this study, we administered Korean version of the Temperament and Character Inventory (K-TCI) to a sample of 158 Korean college students and genotyped for the 5-HTTLPR in order to compare the TCI dimensional scores including harm avoidance according to the 5-HTTLPR genotype and sex. We could not find the association between 5-HTTLPR and harm avoidance and other TCI measures. Considering known allele frequencies differences of 5-HTTLPR among different ethnic groups, further cross-cultural studies with a larger sample would be needed.

Keyword

Anxiety-related personality trait; 5-HTTLPR; Temperament and Character Inventory; Harm Avoidance; Korea; SLC6A4 protein, human; Polymorphism, Gentic

MeSH Terms

Temperament
Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins/*genetics
Personality
Male
Humans
*Harm Reduction
Genotype
Female
Exploratory Behavior
Adult

Reference

1. Hendricks TJ, Fyodorov DV, Wegman LJ, Lelutiu NB, Pehek EA, Yamamoto B, Silver J, Weeber EJ, Sweatt JD, Deneris ES. Pet-1 ETS gene plays a critical role in 5-HT neuron development and is required for normal anxiety-like and aggressive behavior. Neuron. 2003. 37:233–247.

2. Lesch KP, Bengel D, Heils A, Sabol SZ, Greenberg BD, Petri S, Benjamin J, Muller CR, Hamer DH, Murphy DL. Association of anxiety-related traits with a polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene regulatory region. Science. 1996. 274:1527–1531.

3. Little KY, McLaughlin DP, Zhang L, Livermore CS, Dalack GW, McFinton PR, DelProposto ZS, Hill E, Cassin BJ, Watson SJ, Cook EH. Cocaine, ethanol, and genotype effects on human midbrain serotonin transporter binding sites and mRNA levels. Am J Psychiat. 1998. 155:207–213.

4. Greenberg BD, Tolliver TJ, Huang SJ, Li Q, Bengel D, Murphy DL. Genetic variation in the serotonin transporter promoter region affects serotonin uptake in human blood platelets. Am J Med Genet. 1999. 88:83–87.

5. Melke J, Landen M, Baghei F, Rosmond R, Holm G, Bjorntorp P, Westberg L, Hellstrand M, Eriksson E. Serotonin transporter gene polymorphisms are associated with anxiety-related personality traits in women. Am J Med Genet. 2001. 105:458–463.

6. Murakami F, Shimomura T, Kotani K, Ikawa S, Nanba E, Adachi K. Anxiety traits associated with a polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene regulatory region in the Japanese. J Hum Genet. 1999. 44:15–17.

7. Chen TJ, Yu YW, Chen MC, Tsai SJ, Hong CJ. Association analysis for serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism and auditory evoked potentials for major depression. Neuropsychobiology. 2002. 46:57–60.

8. Jang KL, Hu S, Livesley WJ, Angleitner A, Riemann R, Ando J, Ono Y, Vernon PA, Hamer DH. Covariance structure of neuroticism and agreeableness: a twin and molecular genetic analysis of the role of the serotonin transporter gene. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2001. 81:295–304.

9. Hamer DH, Greenberg BD, Sabol SZ, Murphy DL. Role of the serotonin transporter gene in temperament and character. J Pers Disord. 1999. 13:312–327.

10. Osher Y, Hamer D, Benjamin J. Association and linkage of anxiety-related traits with a functional polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene regulatory region in Israeli sibling pairs. Mol Psychiatry. 2000. 5:216–219.

11. Du L, Bakish D, Hrdina PD. Gender differences in association between serotonin transporter gene polymorphism and personality traits. Psychiatr Genet. 2000. 10:159–164.

12. Katsuragi S, Kunugi H, Sano A, Tsutsumi T, Isogawa K, Nanko S, Akiyoshi J. Association between serotonin transporter gene polymorphism and anxiety-related traits. Biol Psychiat. 1999. 45:368–370.

13. Nakamura M, Ueno S, Sano A, Tanabe H. The human serotonin transporter gene linked polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) shows ten novel allelic variants. Mol Psychiatry. 2000. 5:32–38.

14. Schinka JA, Busch RM, Robichaux-Keene N. A meta-analysis of the association between the serotonin transporter gene polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) and trait anxiety. Mol Psychiatry. 2004. 9:197–202.

15. Sen S, Burmeister M, Ghosh D. Meta-analysis of the association between a serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) and anxiety-related personality traits. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet. 2004. 127:85–89.

16. Sung SM, Kim JH, Yang E, Abrams KY, Lyoo IK. Reliability and validity of the Korean version of the temperament and character inventory. Compr Psychiatry. 2002. 43:235–243.

17. Benkmann HG, Cho YH, Singh S, Wimmer U, Lee CC, Kim IK, Paik YK, Goedde HW. Red cell enzyme and serum protein polymorphisms in South Korea. Hum Hered. 1989. 39:263–270.

18. Cloninger CR, Svrakic DM, Przybeck TR. A psychobiological model of temperament and character. Arch Gen Psychiat. 1993. 50:975–990.

19. Hoefgen B, Schulze TG, Ohlraun S, von Widdern O, Hofels S, Gross M, Heidmann V, Kovalenko S, Eckermann A, Kolsch H, Metten M, Zobel A, Becker T, Nothen MM, Propping P, Heun R, Maier W, Rietschel M, Kim SJ, Kim YS, Choi NK, Hong HJ, Lee HS, Kim CH, Ardlie KG, Kruglyak L, Seielstad M, Chotai J, Forsgren T, Nilsson LG, Adolfsson R. The power of sample size and homogenous sampling: association between the 5-HTTLPR serotonin transporter polymorphism and major depressive disorder. Biol Psychiat. 2005. 57:247–251.

20. Kim SJ, Kim YS, Choi NK, Hong HJ, Lee HS, Kim CH, Ardlie KG, Kruglyak L, Seielstad M, Chotai J, Forsgren T, Nilsson LG, Adolfsson R. Serotonin transporter gene polymorphism and personality traits in a Korean population. Neuropsychobiology. 2005. 51:243–247.

21. Ham BJ, Kim YH, Choi MJ, Cha JH, Choi YK, Lee MS. Serotonergic genes and personality traits in the Korean population. Neurosci Lett. 2004. 354:2–5.

22. Tsai SJ, Ouyang WC, Hong CJ. Association for serotonin transporter gene variable number tandem repeat polymorphism and schizophrenic disorders. Neuropsychobiology. 2002. 45:131–133.

23. Nakamura T, Muramatsu T, Ono Y, Matsushita S, Higuchi S, Mizushima H, Yoshimura K, Kanba S, Asai M. Serotonin transporter gene regulatory region polymorphism and anxiety-related traits in the Japanese. Am J Med Genet. 1997. 74:544–545.

24. Gelernter J, Cubells JF, Kidd JR, Pakstis AJ, Kidd KK. Population studies of polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter protein gene. Am J Med Genet. 1999. 88:61–66.

25. Ardlie KG, Kruglyak L, Seielstad M, Chotai J, Forsgren T, Nilsson LG, Adolfsson R. Patterns of linkage disequilibrium in the human genome. Nat Rev Genet. 2002. 3:299–309.

26. Kim DK, Lim SW, Lee S, Sohn SE, Kim S, Hahn CG, Carroll BJ. Serotonin transporter gene polymorphism and antidepressant response. Neuroreport. 2000. 11:215–219.

27. Barr CS, Newman TK, Lindell S, Shannon C, Champoux M, Lesch KP, Suomi SJ, Goldman D, Higley JD. Interaction between serotonin transporter gene variation and rearing condition in alcohol preference and consumption in female primates. Arch Gen Psychiat. 2004. 61:1146–1152.

28. Kim SJ, Choi NK, Han CH, Kim CH. Association between serotonin transporter linked promoter region polymorphism and personality traits-normal female population study. Korean J Psychopharmacol. 2004. 15:206–210.

29. Ando J, Suzuki A, Yamagata S, Kijima N, Maekawa H, Ono Y, Jang KL. Genetic and environmental structure of Cloninger's temperament and character dimensions. J Pers Disord. 2004. 18:379–393.

30. Brandstrom S, Richter J, Przybeck T. Distributions by age and sex of the dimensions of temperament and character inventory in a cross-cultural perspective among Sweden, Germany, and the USA. Psychol Rep. 2001. 89:747–758.

31. Chotai J, Forsgren T, Nilsson LG, Adolfsson R. Season of birth variations in the temperament and character inventory of personality in a general population. Neuropsychobiology. 2001. 44:19–26.