Interaction between HTR2A rs3125 and negative life events in suicide attempts among patients with major depressive disorder: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Both genetic and environmental factors play crucial roles in the development of major depressive disorder (MDD) and suicide attempts (SA). However, the interaction between both items remains unknown. This study aims to explore the interactions between the genetic variants of the serotonin 2 A receptor (HTR2A) and the nitric oxide synthase 1 (NOS1) and environmental factors in patients who experience MDD and SA. METHODS: A total of 334 patients with MDD and a history of SA (MDD-SA) were recruited alongside 518 patients with MDD with no history of SA (MDD-NSA), and 716 healthy controls (HC). The demographic data and clinical characteristics were collected. Sequenom mass spectrometry was used to detect eight tag-single nucleotide polymorphisms (tagSNPs) in HTR2A (rs1328683, rs17068986, and rs3125) and NOS1 (rs1123425, rs2682826, rs3741476, rs527590, and rs7959232). Generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction (GMDR) was used to analyze the gene-environment interactions. RESULTS: Four tagSNPs (rs17068986, rs3125, rs527590, and rs7959232) exhibited significant differences between the three groups. However, these differences were not significant between the MDD-SA and MDD-NSA groups after Bonferroni correction. A logistic regression analysis revealed that negative life events (OR = 1.495, 95%CI: 1.071-2.087, P = 0.018), self-guilt (OR = 2.263, 95%CI: 1.515-3.379, P < 0.001), and negative cognition (OR = 2.252, 95%CI: 1.264-4.013, P = 0.006) were all independently associated with SA in patients with MDD. Furthermore, GMDR analysis indicated a significant interaction between HTR2A rs3125 and negative life events. Negative life events in conjunction with the HTR2A rs3125 CG + GG genotype were associated with a higher SA risk in patients with MDD when compared to the absence of negative life events in conjunction with the CC genotype (OR = 2.547, 95% CI: 1.264-5.131, P = 0.009). CONCLUSION: Several risk factors and a potential interaction between HTR2A rs3125 and negative life events were identified in patients with SA and MDD. The observed interaction likely modulates the risk of MDD and SA, shedding light on the pathogenesis of SA in patients with MDD.

[Clinical utility of reticulocyte hemoglobin content for the diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia in children].

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical utility of measuring reticulocyte hemoglobin content (CHr) in the diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in children. METHODS: One hundred children with IDA at ages of 1 to 6 years and 50 healthy children were enrolled. Red blood cell parameters, CHr, hemoglobin (Hb), red blood count (RBC) and mean corpusular volume (MCV), were determined using the Blood Cell Analyzer. Serum ferritin (SF) levels were determined using radioimmunoassay double antibody techique. Soluble serum transferrin (sTfR) levels were determined using ELISA. RESULTS: The values of Hb (100 ± 6 g/L vs 126 ± 8 g/L) and CHr (18 ± 5 pg vs 31 ± 3 pg) in the IDA group were significantly lower than normal controls (P<0.01). SF levels (11 ± 4 µg/L) in the IDA group were also lower than normal controls (59 ± 36 µg/L) (P<0.01). In contrast, the values of sTfR in the IDA group were significantly higher than normal controls (4.8 ± 2.1 mg/L vs 1.4 ± 0.6 mg/L; P<0.01). In both groups, there was a positive correlation between the values of CHr and Hb [r=0.540 (control group), r=0.734 (IDA group); P<0.01]. In the IDA group, CHr was positively correlated with SF(r=0.464; P<0.01) and negatively correlated with sTfR(r=-0.450; P<0.01). When the cut-off value of CHr was 27.8 pg, the sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of IDA were 88.0% and 90.0%, respectively and the area under the ROC curve was 0.948. CONCLUSIONS: CHr can be used as an index for the diagnosis of IDA in children.