抄録
Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT), a representative neurotransmitter and chemical mediater present in the human brain and body, is closely related to appetite, feeling, hallucination, sleep, and regulation of body temperature. The action of 5-HT is expressed via at least seven kinds of serotonin receptors. Among them, the 5-HT2Aserotonin receptor, which is distributed in the thalamus and spinal cord controls the suppression of noradrenaline release. The 5-HT2Agene promoter polymorphism at -1438G/A can lead a significant change of the protein amount synthesized and has an influence on the biological functions. The gene polymorphism of 144 volunteers (44 women, 100 men) was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using allele specific primers. We examined the association of 5-HT2Apolymorphism with body mass index (BMI) values and eating-habits. The BMI values of GG (57), GA (44), and AA (43) genotypes were 21.31±3.19 kg/m2, 22.62±3.59 kg/m2, and 21.41±5.33 kg/m2, respectively, indicating a significant difference between GA and AA groups. Although height was almost same among three groups, the weight of AA group whose 5-HT2Asynthesis was more than the GG and GA groups was 1.9-4.8 kg less than other groups. Compared with the GG and the GA groups, the AA group had a tendency to extract a meal and to dine out, buy lunch from a convenience store, and daily dish more mostly from the questionnaire on eating habits. The 5-HT2Agene polymorphism was only slightly related to drinking habits and the polymorphism of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) gene, a key enzyme of alcohol metabolism and alcohol consumption.
