Serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) variability in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate five polymorphisms in the SLC6A4 gene in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) and healthy controls.

Design: Totally, 239 subjects were enrolled in this case-control study: 86 patients with RAS and 153 healthy individuals were genotyped for serotonin transporter length polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) polymorphism, variable number tandem repeat (STin2) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs25531, rs3813034, rs1042173) in the SLC6A4 gene by polymerase chain reaction with/without restriction analysis.

Results: No significant differences in the allele or genotype frequencies in all studied polymorphisms between RAS patients and healthy controls (P > 0.05) were detected. However, the haplotype analysis detected a higher frequency of LA12 (HTTLPR, rs25531, STin2) haplotype in RAS patients in comparison with healthy controls (P < 0.05, OR = 1.63, 95 % CI = 1.07-2.49).

Conclusions: Our study indicates a possible relationship between SLC6A4 and susceptibility to RAS in the Czech population.