The tachykinin receptor 3 gene has been linked to alcohol and cocaine dependence

The tachykinin receptor 3 gene has been linked to alcohol and cocaine dependence

• The search for genes associated with alcohol dependence (AD) has recently been extended to the tachykinin receptor 3 gene (TACR3), located within a broad region on chromosome 4q.
• Researchers have found that seven of the nine single nucleotide polymorphisms – DNA sequence variations – in the 3’ region of TACR3 have a significant association with AD as well as cocaine dependence.

Previous family-based research had linked a broad region on chromosome 4q with alcohol dependence (AD). A new study has found that nine of the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) – DNA sequence variations – in the 3’ region of the tachykinin receptor 3 gene (TACR3), located within chromosome 4q, have a significant association with AD, particularly those with more severe AD, and co-existing cocaine dependence.

Results will be published in the June issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at OnlineEarly.

“We believe it is important to identify genes contributing to AD for two primary reasons,” said Tatiana M. Foroud, director of the division of hereditary genomics at the Indiana University School of Medicine and first author of the study.

“First, better treatments can be developed which would improve the success rate for those wishing to end their AD,” she said. “Second, being able to identify those at greater risk for AD at a young age would allow interventions to be initiated earlier, potentially reducing the likelihood that the individual will become AD.”

“The past few years have been an incredibly exciting time in gene identification,” added Danielle Dick, assistant professor of psychiatry, psychology, and human and molecular genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University.

“Scientists are now entering an era where genes are being associated with AD and, importantly, these findings are replicating across samples,” she said. “We know that AD shows a lot of variability, with affected individuals differing on many dimensions, such as age of onset, severity of symptoms and other co-occurring psychiatric and drug problems. This study makes an effort to understand how the TACR3 gene might contribute to some of this variability, rather than simply treating all AD as the same.”