To further infer the precise mechanism underlying the increased requirements for rescue analgesics in the A/A subjects in the A1032G SNP, we compared the relative KCNJ6 mRNA expression level between the genotype subgroups of the SMRI samples in the real-time qPCR. A significant difference in expression level was observed between the A/A genotype and the combined A/G and G/G genotypes, consistent with the results of the association study, in which only the subjects with the A/A genotype in this SNP demonstrated significantly higher requirements for rescue analgesics than the other genotypes. The 1032A/A subjects required more analgesics, probably because of lower KCNJ6 gene expression levels and consequently insufficient analgesic effects.
