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The effects of 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 serotonin transporter gene polymorphisms on antisocial personality disorder among criminals in a sample of the Turkish population

Molecular Biology Reports volume 48, pages 77–84 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is a cluster B personality disorder characterized by a disposition for criminal behaviors. It has been determined by previous studies that ASPD may have a genetic origin and the human serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) is one of the two serotonergic genes expected to be associated with this disorder. 5-HTT-linked polymorphic promoter region (5-HTTLPR) is a degenerate repeat polymorphic region in SLC6A4, the gene that codes for the serotonin transporter. Among many polymorphisms in SLC6A4, 5-HTTLPR an insertion/deletion (indel) polymorphism and rs25531 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the 5-HTTLPR polymorphic region contribute to the regulation of SLC6A4 expression. In this study, we aimed to reveal the relationship between frequencies of 5-HTTLPR variants and ASPD among criminals in the Turkish population. Moreover, it was also attempted to figure out the SLC6A4 gene expression level differences regarding these polymorphisms. The 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 genotypes were determined by PCR and restriction length polymorphism (RFLP) analyses and quantitative real-time-PCR was done for measuring the gene expression levels in the case and control groups. Although no significant difference was observed in the distributions of the 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 polymorphisms between the case and control groups, SLC6A4 expression level in the control group was found significantly higher than the case group (p < 0.0001). There was also no significant difference between genotypes in terms of mRNA expression levels in either the control or the case group. According to our results, ASPD in Turkish society is associated with the SLC6A4 gene expression levels, though the distributions of 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms are not different. This study sheds light on future relevant studies as the first study which is conducted in criminals with ASPD in the Turkish community.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Turkey Council of Forensic Medicine, Department of Psychiatric Observation, for their contributions.

Funding

This research is supported by the Scientific Research Projects Unit of Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa (Project No: 26186).

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Affiliations

  1. Institute of Forensic Sciences and Legal Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul, Turkey

    Irmak Sah & Emel Hulya Yukseloglu

  2. Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Department of Psychiatry, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul, Turkey

    Nese Kocabasoglu

  3. Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Department of Medical Biology, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul, Turkey

    Burcu Bayoglu & Mujgan Cengiz

  4. Department of Psychiatric Observation, Turkey Council of Forensic Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey

    Emre Cirakoglu

Authors
  1. Irmak Sah
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  2. Emel Hulya Yukseloglu
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  3. Nese Kocabasoglu
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Correspondence to Irmak Sah.

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This research project, research protocol, and sample collection were approved by the Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty Clinical Research Ethics Committee. All participants signed written, informed consent to participate in the study.

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Sah, I., Yukseloglu, E.H., Kocabasoglu, N. et al. The effects of 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 serotonin transporter gene polymorphisms on antisocial personality disorder among criminals in a sample of the Turkish population. Mol Biol Rep 48, 77–84 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-021-06137-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-021-06137-y

Keywords

  • ASPD
  • Psychiatric disorders
  • SLC6A4
  • 5-HTTLPR
  • rs25531