Human μ-opioid receptor variation and alcohol dependence

mu-Opioid receptor-mediated neurotransmission is involved in the reward, tolerance, and withdrawal effects of alcohol, The present association study tested the hypothesis that the common Asn40Asp substitution polymorphism in the N-terminal domain of the human mu-opioid receptor (OPRM) confers vulnerability to subtypes of alcohol dependence, The genotypes of the Asn40Asp substitution polymorphism were assessed in 327 German alcohol-dependent subjects (according to ICD-10) and in 340 control subjects of German descent, using an assay based on allele-specific polymerase chain reaction, To select alcoholics with a presumed high genetic load, three subgroups were delineated, marked by (1) a family history of parental alcoholism (n = 114); (2) the inability to abstain from alcohol before the age of 26 years (n = 73); and (3) a history of alcohol withdrawal seizure or delirium (n = 107), The frequency of the Asp40 allele did not differ significantly between the controls [f(Asp40) = 0.078] and either the entire group of alcoholics [f(Asp40) = 0.107; p = 0.066], or the alcoholics with parental alcoholism [f(Asp40) = 0.114; P = 0.094], or the early-onset alcoholics [f(Asp40) = 0.096; p = 0.471] or the alcoholics with severe withdrawal symptoms [f(Asp40) = 0.098; p = 0.350], Our results do not provide evidence that the common Asn40Asp substitution polymorphism of the OPRM gene contributes a major effect to the pathogenesis of alcohol dependence.