The protein phosphatase 1 regulatory subunit 1B gene (PPP1R1B; also known as dopamine and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein; DARPP32) is a target for the actions of dopamine. Because the mesolimbic dopaminergic system is implicated in the reinforcing effects of many drugs, including nicotine, PPP1R1B is considered a plausible candidate for involvement in the development of vulnerability to nicotine dependence (ND). Further, this gene is located within a region on chromosome 17 that demonstrated "suggestive linkage" to ND in our previous genome-wide scan. In the present study, we analyzed six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within PPP1R1B for association with three ND measures: smoking quantity (SQ), the heaviness of smoking index (HSI), and the Fagerström Test for ND (FTND) score. Our sample consisted of 602 nuclear families of African-American (AA) or European-American (EA) origin. No significant associations were found for single SNPs after correction for multiple testing. However, haplotype analysis indicated that in the EA sample, the C-T-G-C haplotype formed by rs2271309-rs907094-rs3764352-rs3817160 with a frequency of 32.0% was significantly associated with SQ (Z = 2.50; P = 0.01), even after Bonferroni correction. No significant associations with haplotypes were found in the AA sample. In summary, our findings provide the first evidence for the potential involvement of PPP1R1B in the etiology of ND and further investigation is thus warranted.
(c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.