Associations between catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) genotypes at rs4818 and rs4680 and gene expression in human dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

Abstract

Having reported associations between catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) genotypes at SNPs rs4818 and rs4680 with levels of soluble COMT (S-COMT) in human dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), we postulated that changes in the levels of cortical S-COMT could impact on behavioural abilities associated with COMT genotype through S-COMT-mediated changes in gene expression. To test this hypothesis, we have examined the relationships between COMT genotypes and gene expression measured using the Affymetrix™ Human Exon 1.0 ST Array in the DLPFC from 141 individuals, some of whom had had a psychiatric disorder. There were significant differences in levels of expression of 15 genes between individu..