No association between the dopamine D3 receptor gene and Korean alcohol dependence

The genes encoding dopamine receptor (DR) subtypes have received considerable attention for the past several years as a potential candidate that may affect susceptibility to addictive disorder, including alcoholism. The many association studies that compared the frequencies of alleles of the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene between alcoholics and control groups have produced results, but some have been equivocal. Dopamine D3 receptor genes (DRD3) are in the same class as DRD2 but with different pharmacological properties. So we compared the distribution of genotypes and frequencies of BalI polymorphism of the DRD3 gene in alcoholics and controls to assess the role of the DRD3 gene in Korean alcoholism. For this study, 67 male probands from alcoholics and 67 age-matched normal male controls were engaged. No evidence for an allelic association was found between the A1 allele of DRD3 and alcoholism in a Korean population. These results suggest that any role played by this receptor may account for only part of the variation in susceptibility to alcoholism.