Zhao MZ, Song XS, Ma JS. Gene × environment interaction in major depressive disorder. World J Clin Cases 2021; 9(31): 9368-9375 [PMID: 34877272 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i31.9368]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Jing-Song Ma, MD, Postdoc, Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, No. 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang Province, China. majingsong@westlake.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Psychiatry
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Cases. Nov 6, 2021; 9(31): 9368-9375 Published online Nov 6, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i31.9368
Gene × environment interaction in major depressive disorder
Ming-Zhe Zhao, Xu-Sheng Song, Jing-Song Ma
Ming-Zhe Zhao, Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Xu-Sheng Song, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300060, China
Jing-Song Ma, Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang Province, China
Jing-Song Ma, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Zhao MZ and Ma JS designed this study; Zhao MZ and Song XS wrote and revised the paper; All authors were involved in editing the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There is no conflict of interest associated with the contributions of the senior author or coauthors of this manuscript.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jing-Song Ma, MD, Postdoc, Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, No. 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou 310024, Zhejiang Province, China. majingsong@westlake.edu.cn
Received: February 20, 2021 Peer-review started: February 20, 2021 First decision: May 13, 2021 Revised: May 27, 2021 Accepted: August 17, 2021 Article in press: August 17, 2021 Published online: November 6, 2021
Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a multifactorial disorder, where multiple susceptibility genes interact with environmental factors, predisposing individuals to the development of the illness. In this article, we reviewed different gene × environment interaction (G×E) studies shifting from a candidate gene to a genome-wide approach. Among environmental factors, childhood adversities and stressful life events have been suggested to exert crucial impacts on MDD. Importantly, the diathesis-stress conceptualization of G×E has been challenged by the differential susceptibility theory. Finally, we summarized several limitations of G×E studies and suggested how future G×E studies might reveal complex interactions between genes and environments in MDD.
Core Tip: The effects of environmental factors on the risk of developing major depressive disorder are likely to be moderated by genetic variants which confer a sensitivity to both positive and negative environmental factors.
