Investigation of BDNF and dopamine D2 receptor gene variations related to weight gain

Neurotrophins are involved in neuronal plasticity processes and take part in the survival, differentiation, and maintenance of certain neuronal populations. Alternative splicing in the BDNF gene, a neurotrophin, results in multiple transcript variants, at least one of which encodes a preproprotein that has been proteolytically processed to produce the mature protein. Binding of this protein to its receptor increases neuronal survival in the adult brain. This gene may play a role in regulating the stress response and in the biology of mood disorders. Dopamine receptors are divided into two as D1-like and D2-like. D3 and D4, which are determined as dopamine receptor subtypes according to their functions, are called D2like receptors, while D5 is classified as D1-like receptors. An important intracellular effect of D1-like receptors is that they activate adenylate cyclase via G-proteins, resulting in increased cAMP within the cell. D2 receptor stimulation has been observed to reduce adenylate cyclase activity. D2 receptors interact with a group of G proteins, resulting in a variety of secondary messenger effects, such as regulation of Ca2 + and K + channel functions and alteration in phosphoinositide production. The DRD2 gene is to encode the D2 subtype from dopamine receptors. In our thesis, we did examine the variations of BDNF and DRD2 genes (rs6265 and rs1800497) that may be associated with weight gain in the DNA of individuals with a body mass index of 30 kg / m2. As a result, while the rs6265 polymorphism in the BDNF gene was associated with obesity, no correlation was found between the rs1800497 polymorphism in the DRD2 gene and obesity.