TY  - JOUR
A1  - Baune, Bernhard T.
A1  - Konrad, Carsten
A1  - Grotegerd, Dominik
A1  - Suslow, Thomas
A1  - Birosova, Eva
A1  - Ohrmann, Patricia
A1  - Bauer, Jochen
A1  - Arolt, Volker
A1  - Heindel, Walter
A1  - Domschke, Katharina
A1  - Schöning, Sonja
A1  - Rauch, Astrid V.
A1  - Uhlmann, Christina
A1  - Kugel, Harald
A1  - Dannlowski, Udo
T1  - Interleukin-6 gene (IL-6): a possible role in brain morphology in the healthy adult brain
JF  - Journal of Neuroinflammation
N2  - Background: Cytokines such as interleukin 6 (IL-6) have been implicated in dual functions in neuropsychiatric disorders. Little is known about the genetic predisposition to neurodegenerative and neuroproliferative properties of cytokine genes. In this study the potential dual role of several IL-6 polymorphisms in brain morphology is investigated. 
Methodology: In a large sample of healthy individuals (N = 303), associations between genetic variants of IL-6 (rs1800795; rs1800796, rs2069833, rs2069840) and brain volume (gray matter volume) were analyzed using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Selection of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) followed a tagging SNP approach (e. g., Stampa algorigthm), yielding a capture 97.08% of the variation in the IL-6 gene using four tagging SNPs. Principal findings/results In a whole-brain analysis, the polymorphism rs1800795 (-174 C/G) showed a strong main effect of genotype (43 CC vs. 150 CG vs. 100 GG; x = 24, y = -10, z = -15; F(2,286) = 8.54, p(uncorrected) = 0.0002; p(AlphaSim-corrected) = 0.002; cluster size k = 577) within the right hippocampus head. Homozygous carriers of the G-allele had significantly larger hippocampus gray matter volumes compared to heterozygous subjects. None of the other investigated SNPs showed a significant association with grey matter volume in whole-brain analyses. 
Conclusions/significance: These findings suggest a possible neuroprotective role of the G-allele of the SNP rs1800795 on hippocampal volumes. Studies on the role of this SNP in psychiatric populations and especially in those with an affected hippocampus (e.g., by maltreatment, stress) are warranted.
KW  - aging brain
KW  - hippocampal neurogenesis
KW  - cholinergic neurons
KW  - neurothrophic factor
KW  - Alzheimers disease
KW  - neurite outgrowth
KW  - inflammatory cytokines
KW  - major depression
KW  - nervour system
KW  - dentate gyrus
KW  - genetics
KW  - inflammation
KW  - interleukin 6
KW  - neuroprotection
KW  - voxel-based morphometry
Y1  - 2012
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-130804
VL  - 9
IS  - 125
ER  -