Association between glycogen synthase kinase-3β gene polymorphisms and major depression and suicidal behavior in a Korean population

BackgroundGlycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3β plays a key role in the phosphorylation and regulation of metabolic enzymes and many transcription factors. Several lines of evidence implicate GSK-3β in the pathophysiology of mood disorders and susceptibility to suicidal behavior. In this study, we aimed to investigate the GSK-3β gene's association with major depressive disorder (MDD) and suicidal behavior.MethodsOne hundred seventy suicidal depressed patients and 147 non-suicidal depressed patients who met DSM-IV criteria for MDD were recruited. One hundred sixty-four healthy volunteers recruited by local advertisement served as controls. Patients and normal controls were genotyped for GSK-3β − 1727A/T and − 50C/T. Haplotype trend regression (HTR) analysis was used for the evaluation of haplotype association.ResultsThe genotype distributions of − 1727A/T and − 50C/T were in agreement with Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. The results showed that the alleles, genotypes, and haplotypes of the two SNPs do not differ between suicidal MDD subjects, non-suicidal MDD subjects, and normal controls. There was no difference in the haplotype frequency combination between the three groups.ConclusionOur study suggests that two promoter polymorphisms of the GSK-3β gene may not be related to the pathogenesis of MDD and the risk of suicidal behavior in Korean depressive patients. Further studies with larger sample sizes and different populations are needed.