Work

Association of the rs1439050 polymorphism and differential expression of NTRK2 gene in the cerebral prefrontal cortex of suicidal individuals from a population in northern Mexico

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This study was performed in order to determine whether suicidal behavior is associated with the single-nucleotide polymorphism rs1439050 of the NTRK2 gene and/or with changes in the expression levels of this gene in cases of suicide compared with a control group in a Mexican population. Genotyping of the rs1439050 polymorphism of the NTRK2 gene of individuals who committed suicide (n = 99) and individuals who died for reasons other than suicide (n = 88) was conducted by qPCR. Similarly, using specific qRT-PCR probes, the expression of the NTRK2 gene was assessed in the prefrontal cortex of 20 suicidal cases and 20 control subjects. A significantly higher proportion ( p = 0.005) of heterozygous GT genetic frequency was found for the suicidals (64%) than for controls (44%). Importantly, the relative expression levels of NTRK2 were significantly lower ( p = 0.035) in suicidal subjects than in control persons. In summary, the heterozygous GT genotype represents a risk factor for suicide under the over-dominant inheritance model. Additionally, alterations in the expression level of NTRK2 in the prefrontal cortex of suicidal subjects were found in the population of study.

Source: Heliyon

DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2026.e44926