HTR2A Gene

Serotonin is critical to so many processes in the central nervous system and serotoninergic dysfunction has been heavily investigated as a cause for depression.

Hydroxytryptamine receptor 2A (HTR2A/5-HTR2A/Setononin receptor 2A) is a serotonin receptor (5-hydroxytryptamine is a synonym for serotonin). It is also a G protein-coupled receptor, receiving molecules from outside and using them to activate signal transduction inside the cell. Serotonin is critical to many processes in the central nervous system and serotoninergic dysfunction has been heavily investigated as a cause of depression. McMahon and colleagues (2006) investigated 68 candidate genes in 1953 patients with major depression. Only HTR2A was identified with response to antidepressives – more specifically, a positive response to treatment was seen in patients with a specific single nucleotide polymorphism, rs7997012. Further evidence for an association between the serotonin receptor and depression was provided by Weisstaub and colleagues (2006), who found an association between Htr2a signaling in mice and performance on conflict anxiety paradigms.