英國媒體３日報道,，美國科學家公布的最新研究結果顯示,，那些試圖戒煙卻沒有成功的吸煙者遺傳了一系列與上癮有關的基因特征?？茖W家認為,，這項研究結果首次證明戒煙困難程度與基因構成密切相關，利用這一發(fā)現(xiàn),，醫(yī)生日后將能夠對吸煙者展開基因檢測,，從而有針對性地展開特殊治療。
《獨立報》說,，這篇研究論文刊載在最新一期《生物醫(yī)藥遺傳學》期刊上,，在美國政府和煙草商菲利普·莫里斯公司資助下，研究人員檢測了超過５２萬個基因,，以在戒煙成功者和失敗者之間展開基因比對研究,。結果顯示，一些人之所以對煙產生依賴性，而且戒煙時倍感困難,，基因起了顯著作用,。
參與基因分析的喬治·尤爾博士說，“我們發(fā)現(xiàn)戒煙成功者和失敗者群體之間有２２１個基因不同,。我們已知其中１８７個基因的功能,，但另外３４個基因的功能尚不清楚。我們還發(fā)現(xiàn),，此前已證明對其他藥品產生依賴性的至少６２個基因也與尼古丁上癮有關,。”
研究人員認為，這一結果有助于戒煙治療,。杜克大學研究人員杰德·羅斯說：“從長遠角度看,，我們希望將來可以通過識別戒煙者不同基因類型，確定最有效的治療方案,。”
英語原文：
Found: gene that means some people can't give up cigarettes
By Steve Connor, Science Editor
Published: 03 April 2007
Smokers who have tried to give up cigarettes and failed may soon be able to come up with another excuse - they were born to remain addicted. In the first study of its kind, scientists have identified a series of genetic traits for addictiveness that appear to be inherited by smokers who try but fail to kick the habit.
Scientists believe that the findings could soon open the way to testing a person's genetic make-up to see whether they can be weaned off cigarettes with the help of specially-targeted treatments.
"The long-term hope is that identifying genetic variables in smokers will help us determine which type of treatment would be most effective," said Jed Rose, of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
"Knowing a smoker's genetic make-up could indicate how intensely they need to be treated. People who are having trouble quitting because of their genes might need more treatment to overcome their addiction," Dr Rose said. The latest research into the addictiveness of cigarettes suggests that genes play a significant role in making someone dependent on smoking in the first place, and making it more difficult for them to quit once they have started.
It is part of a wider study of the human genome to investigate the genes that appear to play an important role in the formation of a person's psychological make-up, such as an inherited predisposition to addictiveness or risk-taking behaviour.
"This research marks the first time we've been able to identify genes involved in the ability to quit smoking," said Dr Nora Volkow, the director of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse in Washington.
"It marks a movement from identifying the genetics of addiction vulnerability to identifying the genetic basis of successful abstinence. This knowledge could impact the success rate of cessation programmes by helping health care providers choose the most appropriate treatment based on individual differences."
The scientists, who were funded by the US government and Philip Morris, the cigarette makers, screened more than 520,000 genes to compare the genetic variations found among smokers who had successfully given up with genetic variations among smokers who had tried to quit but failed.
"We identified 221 genes that distinguished successful quitters from those who were unsuccessful," said Dr George Uhl, who carried out that analysis at the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
"We know the functions of about 187 of these genes, but 34 have functions that are unknown at present.
"We also found that at least 62 of the genes that we had previously identified as playing roles in dependence to other drugs also contribute to nicotine dependence," he said.
"These findings lend further support to the idea that nicotine dependence shares some common genetic vulnerabilities with addictions to other legal and illegal substances."
One of the genes that appears to differ between smokers who give up and those who cannot is called cadherin 13, which produces a substance known to be involved in controlling how nerve cells in the brain stick together, Dr Rose said. "Smokers whose nerve cell connections are not working properly may be more vulnerable to addiction and may face a tougher time quitting. These findings open up new possibilities in finding specific targets for treatment."
Another of the genes involved in smoking addictiveness is also known to play a role in controlling how people respond to stress - the gene produces a protein that is important in guiding learning processes in the brain, Dr Uhl said.
The next stage of the research will involve testing different forms of treatment for giving up smoking to see how effective they are on people with differing genetic make-up, Dr Volkow said.
"We soon may be able to make use of this information to match treatments with the smokers most likely to benefit from them," Dr Volkow said.
The research is published in the journal, BioMed Central Genetics.
