Reappraisal of the serotonin 5-HT1B receptor gene in alcoholism:: Of mice and men

Because pharmacological and genetic data supported the idea that serotonin receptors of the 5-HT1B type can play a modulatory role in alcohol consumption in both human and rodents, the 5-HT1B receptor gene is considered as a candidate gene for alcohol dependence. However, contradictory results have been reported as a positive association between alcohol dependence, and either the 861 C or the 861 G allele of the G861C polymorphism of the 5-HT1B receptor gene can be found in the literature. Further investigations in a population of 136 male alcoholics compared with 72 male control subjects demonstrated that none of these alleles was actually associated with alcohol dependence. In addition, in contrast with previous results of the literature, ethanol intake under free choice conditions (i.e., ethanol solution vs. water) was found to be similar in 5-HT1B-/- knock mice and paired wild-type controls. The 5-HT1B receptor gene may thus not be a key component in the genetic background underlying alcohol dependence in human and alcohol preference in rodents, although these results should be considered as preliminary according to the small size of our sample. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc.