Serotonin transporter gene polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis.

BACKGROUND: Considerable evidence indicates that serotonergic mechanisms, particularly the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) may be involved in psychological alterations. Recent findings have demonstrated that depression and stress are influenced by polymorphism of the promoter region of 5-HTT (5-HTTLPR) and that the short allele (S) is associated with reduced transcriptional efficiency resulting in reduced serotonin expression and uptake. As psychological and genetic factors have been implicated in the pathogenesis of recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS), the purpose of the present study was to investigate 5-HTTLPR polymorphism in patients with RAS compared with control subjects.

METHODS: Sixty-nine consecutive subjects affected by minor and major forms of RAS and 70 healthy volunteers were genotyped at 5-HTTLPR. The chi-square test was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS: A significant increase in the genotype of SS (P = 0.05) and of the allele S (P = 0.04) in the group of RAS were observed.

CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate that RAS patients have a tendency to show polymorphism associated with anxiety-related traits.