Background: There is biological evidence that the brain opioidergic system plays a critical role in the addictive\nproperties of nicotine. The purpose of the present study was to examine the associations of single nucleotide\npolymorphisms (SNPs) in the genes encoding mu-opioid receptor (MOR) and the MOR-interacting proteins (including\nOPRM1, ARRB2, and HINT1) with smoking behaviors in Chinese men.\nMethods: A total of 284 subjects (including current and ex-smokers) were recruited. Special questionnaires were used\nto assess smoking behaviors including age of smoking initiation, daily cigarette consumption, and Fagerstr�¶m test for\nnicotine dependence (FTND) score. Participant samples were genotyped for six SNPs in the opioid pathway genes:\nrs1799971 in OPRM1, rs1045280, rs2036657 and rs3786047 in ARRB2, rs3852209 and rs2278060 in HINT1. Linear and logistic\nregression models were used to determine single-locus and haplotype-based association analyses.\nResults: There was no significant association between any of SNPs analyzed and smoking behaviors. Logistic regression\nanalyses under dominant, recessive, and additive models showed no significant associations of the six SNPs with smoking\nstatus (current vs. ex-smokers). After adjustment for age at enrollment and smoking initiation age, HINT1 rs3852209 was\nsignificantly associated with smoking status with an OR of 0.54 (95% CI, 0.31-0.95; P = 0.03) under dominant inheritance\nmodel. No haplotypes in ARRB2 or HINT1 were related to smoking status.\nConclusions: The present study indicates no significant association between common genetic variations in MOR and\nMOR-interacting proteins and smoking behaviors in Chinese men, and gives suggestive evidence that HINT1 rs3852209\nmay be related to smoking status. The findings require confirmation from further studies in additional larger samples.
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