Stress is clearly implicated in the quality of life and in many diseases including mental health and cortisol is a recognised biomarker for stress. However in previous studies we have found that psychological resilience is a defence against depression. Reelin an emerging biomarker for resilience plays an active role in protein signalling during neuronal migration, is responsible for cytoarchitechtonic pattern formation in brain, and modulates the migration of newly generated postmitotic neurons from the ventricular zone. A number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), methylation of the promoter and RELN gene in chromosome 7q22 have been found to affect the level RELN mRNA and protein expression. In mice, overexpression of reelin in the hippocampus has anti-depressant activity by increasing neurogenesis and improving learning. The current methodologies of detecting the SNPs are laborious and time consuming. Our aim was to develop a rapid high resolution melting (HRM) PCR analysis technique for the RELN SNPs so we can investigate their role in resilience.

The genomic DNA from the subjects was isolated from cheek cells which were collected into a commercially available non-alcoholic mouthwash. The subjects were analysed for clinical depression and resilience by questionnaire. The RELN gene related polymorphisms (rs727531, rs2072403, rs362691, rs362719, and rs736707) were determined by routine PCR and restriction enzyme digestion and a real time PCR assay complemented with a HRM cycle and further analysed to identify and differentiate the SNPs in the alleles. The PCR samples were sequenced to confirm the allele variations. Preliminary analysis shows that several SNPs have a significant correlation with resilience. We plan to use this rapid methodology to investigate the relationship between RELN SNPs, resilience, waking cortisol and depression.