Relationship Between the Occurrence of Depression and DROSHA (rs6877842, rs10719) and XPO5 (rs11077) Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the Polish Population: A Case-Control Study

Although the epidemiology and symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD) have been well-documented, the etiology and pathophysiology of the disease have not yet been fully explained. Depression arises from intricate interplay among social, psychological, and biological factors. Recently, there has been growing focus on the involvement of miRNAs in depression, with suggestions that abnormal miRNA processing locally at the synapse contributes to MDD. Changes in miRNAs may result from altered expression and/or function of the miRNA biogenesis machinery at the synapse. The aim of our research was to assess the relationship between the occurrence of depression and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the following genes in the Polish population: DROSHA (rs6877842; rs10719) and XPO5 (rs11077). This study involved 200 individuals, including 100 with depressive disorders in the study group (SG) and 100 healthy people without MDD in the control group (CG). All participants were unrelated native Caucasian Poles from central Poland. Blood samples were collected to evaluate the single-nucleotide polymorphism of the genes. Findings indicated that within our patient cohort, the risk of depression is increased by polymorphic variants of the rs10719/DROSHA and rs11077/XPO5 genes and lowered by rs6877842/DROSHA. Our study sheds light on the understanding of the genetic basis of depression, which can be used in the rapid diagnosis of this disease.