Association analysis of Rgs7 variants with panic disorder

Following our recent finding of Rgs2 playing a role in the development of human panic disorder (PD), we examine another positional and functional candidate from the functionally interwoven Rgs (regulator of G-protein signaling) family, Rgs7, in the pathogenesis of PD. A German PD sample (N = 224) was compared with matched controls (N = 224) for seven SNPs within and flanking the gene. The intronic SNP3 (rs11805657) and its corresponding haplotypes were found to be associated with PD, particularly PD with comorbid agoraphobia (PDAgP), with the effect originating from the female subgroup (P values 0.008–0.047). The rare A-allele was underrepresented in patients, suggesting a protective effect with carriers possessing an about 2-fold lower risk for developing the disorder compared to G/G homozygotes. Our results argue against a major role of Rgs7 gene variants in the pathogenesis of PD, but are consistent with a minor gender-specific effect on PD, particularly PDAgP.