Lack of association between serotonin transporter 5-HTT gene polymorphism and endometriosis in an Italian patient population

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine whether the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTT), a key component in the control of the serotonergic system, is associated with endometriosis in an Italian population. FINDINGS: A case-control study, comprising 137 Italian patients with surgically confirmed endometriosis and 120 healthy controls, was carried out. 5-HTT genotypes (LL, SL and SS) were obtained by polymerase chain reaction and gel electrophoresis analysis. We found no overall difference in genotypic and allelic distributions of the 5-HTT gene between cases and controls. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the 5-HTT L/S promoter polymorphism is not associated with susceptibility to endometriosis in the studied Italian patients.