A common haplotype of the nicotine acetylcholine receptor alpha 4 subunit gene is associated with vulnerability to nicotine addiction in men.

ABSTRACT: Nicotine is the major addictive substance in cigarettes, and genes involved in sensing nicotine are logical candidates for vulnerability to nicotine addiction. We studied six single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the CHRNA4 gene and four SNPs in the CHRNB2 gene with respect to nicotine dependence in a collection of 901 subjects (815 siblings and 86 parents) from 222 nuclear families with multiple nicotine-addicted siblings. The subjects were assessed for addiction by both the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) and the Revised Tolerance Questionnaire (RTQ). Because only 5.8% of female offspring were smokers, only male subjects were included in the final analyses (621 men from 206 families). Univariate (single-marker) family-based association tests (FBATs) demonstrated that v

SUBMITTER: Feng Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1181994 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature