← Glossary
Gene

COMT

COMT encodes catechol-O-methyltransferase, an enzyme that inactivates catecholamines (dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine) and catechol estrogens by methylation, playing an outsized role in clearing dopamine from the prefrontal cortex where dopamine transporter expression is low. The common Val158Met polymorphism (rs4680) alters enzyme activity roughly fourfold, influencing dopamine tone linked to stress reactivity, cognition and pain sensitivity, as well as estrogen-pathway metabolism.

Traits COMT shapes

Markers (rsIDs)

Reference databases

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