NCAM1, TACR1 and NOS Genes and Temperament: A Study on Suicide Attempters and Controls

Suicide, one of the leading causes of death among young adults,
seems to be plausibly modulated by both genetic and personality
factors. The aim of this study was to dissect the potential
association between genetics and temperament in a sample of 111
suicide attempters and 289 healthy controls. We focused on 4 genes
previously investigated in association with suicide on the same
sample: the nitric oxide synthase 1 and 3 (NOS1 and NOS3), the
neuronal cell adhesion molecule 1 (NCAM1), and the tachykinin
receptor 1 (TACR1) genes. In particular, we investigated whether a
set of genetic variants in these genes (NOS1 : rs2682826,
rs1353939, rs693534; NOS3 : rs2070744, rs1799983, rs891512; NCAM1 :
rs2301228, rs1884, rs1245113, rs1369816, rs2196456, rs584427; TACR1
: rs3771810, rs3771825, rs726506, rs1477157) were associated with
temperamental traits at the Temperament and Character Inventory
(TCI). No strong evidence was found for the association between TCI
personality traits and the polymorphisms considered in the 4 genes,
with the exception of an association between reward dependence
trait and the rs2682826 SNP in NOS1 in the healthy sample. However,
this result could be plausibly interpreted as a false-positive
finding. In conclusion, our study did not support the thesis of a
direct modulation of these genes on temperament; however, further
studies on larger samples are clearly required in order to confirm
our preliminary findings and to exclude any possible minor
influence. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel