Glutamate excitotoxicity has been previously associated with development of multiple sclerosis (MS). The metabotropic glutamate receptor 7 (GRM7) gene is a G protein-coupled receptor that suppresses the cyclic AMP cascade after activation by glutamate. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within this gene have been reported to be associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. In the present study, we assessed associations between two intronic variants of GRM7 (rs6782011 and rs779867) and risk of MS in an Iranian population. The rs779867 was associated with MS risk in recessive model (OR (95% CI) = 0.67 (0.48-0.94)), P-value = 0.02, adjusted P-value = 0.04). There was no significant difference in allele and genotype frequencies of rs6782011 between cases and controls. None of the estimated haplotype blocks of rs6782011 and rs779867 were associated with MS risk in the assessed population. The current study provides some evidence for participation of GRM7 in the pathogenesis of MS and warrants further studies in larger sample sizes.
Keywords: GRM7; Glutamate receptor; Multiple sclerosis.
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