Title:A Relationship between Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthetase Gene Variants and Substance Use Disorder
Volume: 21
Issue: 9
Author(s): Sacide Pehlivan, Pinar C. Aydin, Ayse F. Nursal*, Mustafa Pehlivan, Yasemin Oyaci and Ahmet B. Yazici
Affiliation:
- Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Hitit University, Corum,Turkey
Keywords:
Substance use disorder, endothelial, nitric oxide synthase, gene, variant, Turkish population.
Abstract:
Background: Addictive substances are known to result in oxidative stress (OS). OS enhances
the generation of free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reduces antioxidant
capacity. Peroxides and oxygen radicals, including hydrogen peroxide and superoxide and radical
nitrogen species, including nitric oxide (NO), are parts of the ROS. Gene variants of the endothelial
nitric oxide (eNOS) affect the plasma levels of NO. This study aimed to investigate whether
there was an association between eNOS variants and substance use disorders (SUDs) risk in the
Turkish population.
Methods: Two eNOS variants (G894T and 27 bp VNTR 4b/a in intron 4) were examined in 216
SUD patients and 140 healthy controls. The eNOS variants were assessed with the PCR based on
the RFLP analysis. Since the patient group consisted only of men, the control group was examined
as a mixed and male-only.
Results: The eNOS G894T homozygous T/T genotype revealed a significant association with susceptibility
to SUD. The patients carrying T/T genotype had SUD risk 1.054 times as much as the
controls and male controls had (p=0.004 and p=0.038, respectively). eNOS 4a/4a genotype increased
in patients as compared to male controls (p=0.048). The homozygous 4b/4b genotype was
higher in the male control group than in SUD patients (p=0.029). eNOS VNTR 4a allele was more
prevalent in the patients than in both controls and male controls (p=0.026 and p=0.0033, respectively).
Conclusion: This study is one of the first studies investigating the relationship between two eNOS
gene variants and SUD in our country. Our findings show that eNOS G894T and VNTR variants
may be the significant risk factor for SUDs in Turkish subjects.
