Association of GATA4 sequence variation with alcohol dependence

Abstract

To further explore reports of association of alcohol dependence and response to acamprosate treatment with the GATA4 rs13273672 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), we genotyped this and 10 other GATA4 SNPs in 816 alcohol-dependent cases and 1248 controls. We tested for association of alcohol dependence with the 11 SNPs individually and performed a global test for association using a principle components analysis. Our analyses demonstrate significant association between GATA4 and alcohol dependence at the gene level (P = 0.009) but no association with rs13273672. Further studies are needed to identify potential causal GATA4 variation(s) and the functional mechanism(s) contributing to this association. © 2012 The Authors, Addiction Biology © 2012 Society for the Study of Addiction.