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No association between RORA polymorphisms and PTSD in two independent samples

Molecular Psychiatry volume 19, pages 1056–1057 (2014)Cite this article

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Logue et al.1 reported genome-wide significant association between a polymorphism (rs8042149) in the RORA gene, encoding the retinoic acid orphan receptor A, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a cohort of trauma-exposed white non-Hispanic US veterans and their partners. The genome-wide association study yielded evidence of association for three additional SNPs at the 10-6 threshold in the same cohort (rs8041061, rs8024133, rs11071561). Amstadter et al.2 reported a significant association between rs8042149 and PTSD symptoms in the 2004 Florida Hurricane Study. The RORA gene encodes a nuclear hormone receptor that regulates the transcription activity of nearby genes. It is widely expressed in the brain, where it protects cortical neurons against oxidative stress-induced apoptosis by increasing the expression of antioxidant proteins.1 Logue et al.1 proposed that genetic variations in RORA may alter its expression, reducing the capacity of neurons to respond to biochemical stressors induced by traumatic stress.

We set out to replicate the association of variations in the RORA gene with lifetime risk of PTSD and to test whether RORA genotypes modified the association between cumulative trauma exposure and PTSD in two independent data sets.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. G Guffanti, A E Ashley-Koch, M A Hauser and K C Koenen: These authors contributed equally to this work.

  2. Mira Brancu, Patrick S Calhoun, Eric B Elbogen, John A Fairbank, Jeffrey M Hoerle, Kimberly T Green, Harold S Kudler, Christine E Marx, Scott D Moore, Rajendra A Morey, Jennifer C Naylor, Jennifer J Runnals, Larry A Tupler, Richard D Weiner, Elizabeth E Van Voorhees, Marinell Miller-Mumford, Scott D McDonald, Treven C Pickett, Robin A Hurley, Jared Rowl, Katherine H Taber and Ruth E Yoash-Gantz: Members of the Veterans Affairs Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center are listed at the end of the text.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    G Guffanti

  2. Department of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    A E Ashley-Koch, M E Garrett, Y Liu & M A Hauser

  3. Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    A L Roberts & I De Vivo

  4. Center of Human Genetics Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    N Solovieff, J W Smoller & S M Purcell

  5. Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, The Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA

    N Solovieff, J W Smoller & S M Purcell

  6. Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    N Solovieff, J W Smoller & S M Purcell

  7. Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    A Ratanatharathorn & K C Koenen

  8. Department of Psychiatry, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    M Dennis & J Beckham

  9. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    H Ranu

  10. Division of Psychiatric Genomics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    S M Purcell

  11. Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA,

    J Beckham

Authors
  1. G Guffanti
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  2. A E Ashley-Koch
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  3. A L Roberts
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  4. M E Garrett
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  5. N Solovieff
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  6. A Ratanatharathorn
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  7. I De Vivo
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  8. M Dennis
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  9. H Ranu
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  10. J W Smoller
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  11. Y Liu
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  12. S M Purcell
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  13. J Beckham
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  14. M A Hauser
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  15. K C Koenen
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Consortia

Veterans Affairs Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center Workgroup

  • Mira Brancu
  • , Patrick S Calhoun
  • , Eric B Elbogen
  • , John A Fairbank
  • , Jeffrey M Hoerle
  • , Kimberly T Green
  • , Harold S Kudler
  • , Christine E Marx
  • , Scott D Moore
  • , Rajendra A Morey
  • , Jennifer C Naylor
  • , Jennifer J Runnals
  • , Larry A Tupler
  • , Richard D Weiner
  • , Elizabeth E Van Voorhees
  • , Marinell Miller-Mumford
  • , Scott D McDonald
  • , Treven C Pickett
  • , Robin A Hurley
  • , Jared Rowl
  • , Katherine H Taber
  •  & Ruth E Yoash-Gantz

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to M A Hauser or K C Koenen.

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Competing interests

These authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Veterans Affairs Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center Workgroup Mira Brancu, Patrick S Calhoun, Eric B Elbogen, John A Fairbank, Jeffrey M Hoerle, Kimberly T Green, Harold S Kudler, Christine E Marx, Scott D Moore, Rajendra A Morey, Jennifer C Naylor, Jennifer J Runnals, Larry A Tupler, Richard D Weiner and Elizabeth E Van Voorhees from the Durham (NC) VA Medical Center; Marinell Miller-Mumford from the Hampton (VA) VA Medical Center; Scott D McDonald and Treven C Pickett from the Richmond (VA) VA Medical Center; Robin A Hurley, Jared Rowland, Katherine H Taber and Ruth E Yoash-Gantz from the Salisbury (NC) VA Medical Center.

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Guffanti, G., Ashley-Koch, A., Roberts, A. et al. No association between RORA polymorphisms and PTSD in two independent samples. Mol Psychiatry 19, 1056–1057 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2014.19

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