Analysis of the Association of 5-Hydroxytryptamine Receptor 2A Gene Variants in Nicotine Addiction in the Yakut Population

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the HTR2A 1438A/G (rs6311) SNP and the risk of nicotine addiction in Yakuts. Methods and Results: A total of 292 people of Yakut nationality were tested (77 women and 215 men). Two groups of examined persons were formed: smokers (n=141) and non-smokers (NS, n=151). To determine the association of the studied SNP with the degree of smoking, the smoker group was divided into two subgroups: Heavy smokers (HS) and Light smokers (LS). Subjects who were smokers were classified based on their consumption of cigarettes per day (cpd), as follows: LS (n=10), those who consumed between 1 and 10 cpd, and HS (n=131), those who consumed ≥20 cpd. The study of the HTR2A 1438A/G (rs6311) SNP was performed by PCR and RFLP analysis. The A allele of the HTR2A 1438A/G (rs6311) SNP was associated with more of a risk for the HS group than the LS. Using the A allele as a risk factor, RR analysis showed a significant association with a risk factor when comparing HS with LS (RR=1.086; 95% CI=1.032-1.142; P=0.049). The analysis of the OR and RR between the HS and LS showed that the AA and AG genotypes were associated with an increased risk for heavy smoking (OR=9.714; 95% CI=1.196-78.874; RR =1.126; 95% CI=1.027-1.235; P=0.026). We cannot dismiss the possibility that our results may reflect the small sample size. Despite this potential limitation, the significant associations should not be disregarded and merit further investigation for clarification of these results.