Meta-Analysis of the Association between GABA Receptor Polymorphisms and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

This study aimed to investigate the association between ASD and the GABA receptor SNPs in chromosomal region 15q11–q13. The association was calculated by the overall odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). We used sensitivity analyses and the assessment of publication bias in our meta-analysis. Eight independent case-control studies involving 1408 cases and 2846 healthy controls were analyzed, namely, 8 studies forGABRB3 SNPs as well as 4 studies forGABRA5 andGABRG3 polymorphisms. The meta-analysis showed thatGABRB3 polymorphisms in general are not significantly associated with autism [OR  = 0.846 (95% CI): 0.595–1.201, I2 = 79.1%]. Further analysis indicated that no associations were found betweenGABRB3 SNPs and autism on rs2081648 [OR  = 0.84 (95% CI) = 0.41–1.72, I2 = 89.2%] and rs1426217 [OR = 1.13 (95% CI) = 0.64–2.0, I2 = 83%]. An OR of 0.95 (95% CI) = 0.77–1.17 was reported (I2 = 0.0%) forGABRA5 SNPs and an OR of 0.96 (95% CI)  = 0.24–3.81 was obtained fromGABRG3 SNPs (I2 = 97.8%). This meta-analysis provides strong evidence that different SNPs of GABA receptorB3,A5, andG3 subunit genes located on chromosome 15q11 –q13 are not associated with the development of autism spectrum diseases in different ethnic populations. However, in future research, large-scale and high-quality studies are necessary to confirm the results.
Source: Journal of Molecular Neuroscience - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research