The purpose of the preliminary study was to determine whether the occurrence of certain SNPs of genes encoding IL-1α, IL-1β, and TNF-α is associated with the development of depression. Five polymorphisms were selected: i.e. c.-1560G > C-IL-1β (rs1143623), c. -118 C > T-IL-1β (rs1143627), c.340G > T-IL-1α (rs17561), c.-1211T > C-TNF-α (rs1799964) and c.-488G > A-TNF-α (rs1800629). These were analyzed using TaqMan probes. The genotypes of the analyzed polymorphisms were found to be associated with disease severity and may affect the effectiveness of antidepressant therapy. In addition, the gene-gene analysis confirmed that combined genotypes of investigated SNPs may modulate the risk of depression.
Keywords: Cytokine; Inflammation; Major depressive disorder; Single nucleotide polymorphism.