ITGB3 and serotonin

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Eur J Hum Genet. 2006 May 17; [Epub ahead of print]

Variation in ITGB3 is associated with whole-blood serotonin level and autism

susceptibility.

Weiss LA, Kosova G, Delahanty RJ, Jiang L, Cook EH, Ober C, Sutcliffe JS.

1Department of Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.

Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder affecting more males than

females. Heritability estimates for autism can rise above 90%, and genes

influencing the serotonin system are strong candidates for autism susceptibility

genes, as drugs selectively acting on the serotonin system are some of the most

effective treatments for maladaptive behaviors seen in autism. ITGB3 was

recently identified as a male quantitative trait locus (QTL) for whole-blood

serotonin levels in the Hutterites (P=0.0003). Here, we demonstrate associations

between variation in ITGB3 and serotonin levels in two outbred samples (P=0.010

and 0.015). Lastly, we show that a coding variant of ITGB3 is associated with

autism susceptibility in a large multiplex sample (P=0.00082), and that this

variation has different effects in males and females (P=0.0018).European Journal

of Human Genetics advance online publication, 17 May 2006;

doi:10.1038/sj.ejhg.5201644.

PMID: 16724005 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Hum Genet. 2006 May 24; [Epub ahead of print]