Genetics
The BDNF protein is coded by the gene that is also called BDNF. In humans this gene is located on chromosome 11. Val66Met (rs6265) is a single nucleotide polymorphism in the gene where adenine and guanine alleles vary, resulting in a variation between valine and methionine at codon 66.
As of 2008, Val66Met is probably the most investigated SNP of the BDNF gene, but, besides this variant, other SNPs in the gene are C270T, rs7103411, rs2030324, rs2203877, rs2049045 and rs7124442.
The polymorphism Thr2Ile may be linked to congenital central hypoventilation syndrome.
In 2009, variants close to the BDNF gene were found to be associated with obesity in two very large genome wide-association studies of body mass index (BMI).
Read more about this topic: Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor