Association of PICK1 and BDNF variations with increased risk of methamphetamine dependence among Iranian population: a case-control study.

Background: Genetic factors play an important role in susceptibility to methamphetamine dependency. In this line, protein that interact with C-kinase-1 (PICK1) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) genes are linked to methamphetamine dependence (substance use disorder). Thus, in a case-control study, we investigated the association between polymorphisms of PICK1 and BDNF genes and methamphetamine dependence in an Iranian population.

Methods: Total of 235 cases and 204 controls were recruited in a period between 2015 to 2018. The PICK1-rs713729, -rs2076369 and BDNF-rs6265 genotypes were determined via ARMS-PCR assay. Statistical analysis was performed, using SPSS 20.0, PHASE 2.1.1 program as well as SNP Analyzer 2.0.

Results: In the present study, two polymorphisms including PICK1-rs713729 (OR 1.38 (CI 1.08-1.52; P- 0.004) in multiplicative and dominant models, and PICK1-rs2076369 (OR 1.31 (CI 1.10-1.56; P- 0.002) in multiplicative, dominant and co-dominant models were associated with the risk of methamphetamine abuse. Moreover, haplotype analysis showed a significant association of haplotype AG (OR 2.50 (CI 1.50-4.16; P- 0.0002) in dominant, recessive and co-dominant models, and haplotype TT (OR 0.67 (CI 0.50-0.91; P- 0.009) in dominant and co-dominant models with the risk of methamphetamine abuse. None of the polymorphisms in this study had a high level of linkage disequilibrium.

Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the PICK1 gene polymorphism might affect the risk of methamphetamine dependency in our population.