CATT haplotype of the FKBP5 gene and dissociative phenomenology

Survival mechanisms are evolutionary grown behaviors in life-threatening situations. They are thought to be determined by genetic patterns involved in stress systems, such as the control of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. FK506 binding protein 5 (FKBP5) is a co-chaperone that is involved in modulating glucocorticoid receptor (GR) sensitivity in response to stress. Dissociation is thought to be one of these survival strategies and appears to be associated with common haplotypes of the FKBP5 gene formed by four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs9296158, rs3800373, rs1360780, and rs9470080). The aim of the study was to examine the association between the FKBP5 haplotypes, type of childhood trauma and different types of dissociative phenomena. Dissociation encompasses a wide range of different phenomena. A common categorization has been made that distinguishes between 'detachment' and 'compartmentalisation' dissociation. Therefore, both categories were included in the study, including identity dissociation as the most severe form of compartmentalisation dissociation. We analyzed the association between six different types of dissociative phenomena, different types of childhood trauma and the FKBP5 haplotypes in 194 participants, primarily Black Americans of low socioeconomic status and high trauma burden, who participated in the Grady Trauma Project in Atlanta. We found that only identity dissociation was significantly associated with the CATT FKBP5 haplotype, regardless of the type of childhood trauma. In particular, individuals with one or two CATT haplotypes are 15 times more likely to develop identity dissociation than others. In conclusion, our findings indicate a link between gene variants involved in the regulation of stress systems and self-development under conditions of traumatic stress during the developmental period, which may be important for the study of disorders such as complex post-traumatic stress disorder.