Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and serotonin transporter (SERT) have recently
been implicated in depression (
Caspi et al 2003
,
Kaufman et al 2004
) and depression-like behavior in animals (
Berton et al 2006
). A recent study has examined BDNF/SERT genes interactions in depressed children,
reporting that a combination of met-BDNF allele with two short SERT alleles was associated
with higher depression in maltreated children (
Kaufman et al 2006
). The effect was magnified in children with reduced social support, suggesting its
protective role in depression (
Kaufman et al 2006
). Although their interesting findings outline the important role of BDNF–SERT interplay
in vulnerability to depression, our understanding of these results might benefit from
further discussion.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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References
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Published online: September 05, 2006
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© 2007 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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- ReplyBiological PsychiatryVol. 61Issue 9
- PreviewWe appreciate Dr. Kalueff et al’s thoughtful commentary of our paper. They are absolutely correct to note that there are contradictory data on the role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in depression. As we discussed in our report, prior investigations examining the BDNF val66met polymorphism have reported opposite findings in association with depression and other traits, with the “val” allele associated with vulnerability in some studies (Lang et al. 2005), and the “met” allele designated as the “risk” allele in others (Jiang et al.
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