Pharmacogenetics of dopamine receptors and response to antipsychotic drugs in schizophrenia - an update

A considerable number of pharmacogenetic studies have been performed in recent years to define the association of antipsychotic medication response with dopamine receptor polymorphisms and, despite contradictory results, decisive trends have emerged. For the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2), a trend toward an association with favorable response seems to emerge for the -141C Ins allele of the DRD2 -141C Ins/Del polymorphism and the A1 allele of the Taq1A polymorphism. In the case of the D3 receptor, the Ser9Gly polymorphism has been extensively investigated and a pattern of association is seen between the Ser9 allele and a response to typical antipsychotics, and between the Gly9 allele and a response to atypical antipsychotics. For the D4 receptor no convincing association results have been reported to date. These trends are discussed with regard to methodological directives and functional implications.