Study of -141 DRD2 Dopamine Receptor Gene Polymorphism (rs1799732) and Heroin Dependence

Previous studies showed that the dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) may be associated with drug dependence. This study aimed to determine the role of DRD2 in development of substance dependence in Iranian-Azeri heroin-dependent patients.

Materials and Methods: 160 heroin-dependent subjects and 164 healthy controls were recruited in the North West region of Iran. The single-nucleotide-polymorphisms (SNP) of the DRD2 gene were genotyped in all subjects by PCR-RFLP technique and the data analysis was performed through statistical package for the social sciences software, using Chi-square (X2) test.

Results: No significant difference was detected in genotypes and alleles of -141 Ins/Del (rs1799732) polymorphism of DRD2 gene between the control and case groups (p-value>0.05).

Conclusions: The results showed that -141 DRD2 gene polymorphism did not relate with heroin dependence in Iranian-Azeri population.