The Association of A1438G Single Nucleotide Polymorphism in the 5-HT2A Receptor Gene with the Risk of Migraine Disease

Migraine is a common neurodegenerative disorder, and the loss of the function of several genes in the serotonergic system is involved in the susceptibility to this disease. In this study, the association of the functional polymorphism of A1438G single nucleotide in the promoter of the 5-HT2A receptor gene with migraine susceptibility was studied.
Genomic DNA was extracted from blood samples of 109 patients with migraine and 107 healthy individuals. Then, the fragment of the promoter of the HTR2A gene, which contained A1438G polymorphism, was amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. To determine the genotype of each individual, the product of polymerase chain reaction was digested with MspI enzyme.
Findings: Genotype AA increased the risk of migraine disease by two folds (P = 0.03). Moreover, allele A increased the risk of migraine significantly (P = 0.01).
Based on the results of this study, it is suggested that the genotype AA in the A1438G single nucleotide of the HTR2A receptor gene can increase the risk of migraine disease, which may be due to the effect of allele A on enhancement of promoter activity, receptor expression, and consequently, the effect of it on the contraction of the vessels that is present in migraine headaches.