rs1360780 — FKBP5 Intronic C>T

The Stress Recovery Gene — Why Some People Bounce Back Faster

Your body's stress response is meant to be temporary. When a threat appears, the HPA axis¹¹ HPA axis
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis: a hormonal cascade where the hypothalamus signals the pituitary, which signals the adrenal glands to release cortisol. It is the body's central stress response system floods your bloodstream with cortisol²² cortisol
The primary stress hormone. Cortisol raises blood sugar, suppresses the immune system, and aids metabolism of fat, protein, and carbohydrates. Chronically elevated cortisol damages the hippocampus and increases risk of depression, anxiety, and cardiovascular disease, and when the threat passes, cortisol is supposed to shut itself off through a negative feedback loop. The gene FKBP5 is a critical gatekeeper of that off switch, and the rs1360780 variant determines how effectively it works.

FKBP5 encodes a co-chaperone³³ co-chaperone
A helper protein that assists chaperone proteins (like hsp90) in folding other proteins into their correct shape. FKBP5 specifically helps regulate the glucocorticoid receptor called FK506 Binding Protein 51 that regulates the glucocorticoid receptor⁴⁴ glucocorticoid receptor
The intracellular receptor for cortisol. When cortisol binds GR in the cytoplasm, the receptor complex travels to the nucleus and activates or represses hundreds of genes — including FKBP5 itself (GR). This variant is one of the strongest gene-environment findings in all of psychiatry: the T allele combined with childhood adversity dramatically increases risk for PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Without adversity, carriers typically show no increased risk — making this a textbook example of how genes and experience interact.

The Mechanism

The rs1360780 variant sits in intron 2 of FKBP5, within a region that functions as a glucocorticoid response element⁵⁵ glucocorticoid response element
A DNA sequence where the activated glucocorticoid receptor binds to turn genes on or off. GREs are how cortisol changes gene expression throughout the body (GRE). The T allele creates a stronger GRE that binds the TATA-box binding protein⁶⁶ TATA-box binding protein
A general transcription factor that helps initiate gene transcription. Stronger TATA-box binding means more efficient gene activation more effectively, enhancing a long-range chromatin interaction⁷⁷ chromatin interaction
Physical contact between distant regions of DNA within the nucleus. In this case, the intron 2 enhancer loops to contact the FKBP5 promoter, boosting transcription between this intronic enhancer and the FKBP5 promoter. The result: when cortisol rises, T-allele carriers produce roughly twice as much FKBP5 protein as C-allele carriers.

This creates a vicious cycle. More FKBP5 protein inhibits GR from translocating to the nucleus, which reduces cortisol's ability to activate the negative feedback that would shut down its own production. The stress response therefore takes longer to resolve — cortisol stays elevated, and the person remains in a physiological state of stress even after the triggering event has passed.

The Klengel et al. 2013⁸⁸ Klengel et al. 2013
Klengel T et al. Allele-specific FKBP5 DNA demethylation mediates gene-childhood trauma interactions. Nature Neuroscience, 2013 study revealed an additional layer: in T-allele carriers who experienced childhood trauma, a second GRE in intron 7 undergoes allele-specific demethylation⁹⁹ allele-specific demethylation
Removal of methyl groups from DNA at specific sites, but only on the chromosome carrying the T allele. This epigenetic change is persistent and makes FKBP5 even more responsive to cortisol in the future. This epigenetic change is persistent — it locks FKBP5 into a state of heightened responsiveness, permanently amplifying the stress feedback dysfunction. Critically, this demethylation only occurs during sensitive developmental periods and only in T-allele carriers, explaining why the same genotype produces different outcomes depending on life experience.

The Evidence

The foundational study by Binder et al.¹⁰¹⁰ Binder et al.
Binder EB et al. Polymorphisms in FKBP5 are associated with increased recurrence of depressive episodes and rapid response to antidepressant treatment. Nature Genetics, 2004 first identified rs1360780 as the FKBP5 variant most strongly associated with recurrent depression and, paradoxically, faster antidepressant response (N=294 inpatients). TT homozygotes reported more depressive episodes but responded to antidepressants more quickly over a 5-week treatment course.

The landmark gene-environment study came from Binder et al. 2008¹¹¹¹ Binder et al. 2008
Binder EB et al. Association of FKBP5 polymorphisms and childhood abuse with risk of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in adults. JAMA, 2008, examining over 900 individuals from an urban, low-income population. Four FKBP5 SNPs (including rs1360780) significantly interacted with childhood abuse severity to predict adult PTSD symptoms — but showed no direct main effect on PTSD without the environmental trigger. Dexamethasone suppression testing confirmed genotype-dependent differences in GR sensitivity.

A meta-analysis of 14 studies¹²¹² meta-analysis of 14 studies
Wang Q et al. Interaction between early-life stress and FKBP5 gene variants in major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. J Affect Disord, 2018 pooling 15,109 participants confirmed that rs1360780 T-allele carriers exposed to early-life trauma have significantly higher risk for depression and PTSD. A separate meta-analysis of MDD susceptibility¹³¹³ meta-analysis of MDD susceptibility
Rao S et al. Common variants in FKBP5 gene and major depressive disorder susceptibility. Sci Rep, 2016 (N=26,582) found a modest direct association (OR 1.06, P=0.003), underscoring that the genetic effect alone is small — the risk emerges primarily through gene-environment interaction.

Beyond psychiatric risk, Fujii et al.¹⁴¹⁴ Fujii et al.
Fujii T et al. The common functional FKBP5 variant rs1360780 is associated with altered cognitive function in aged individuals. Sci Rep, 2014 found that T-allele carriers over age 50 showed significantly poorer working memory and attention (N=742), consistent with the known neurotoxic effects of chronic cortisol elevation on the hippocampus. And Zannas et al.¹⁵¹⁵ Zannas et al.
Zannas AS et al. Epigenetic upregulation of FKBP5 by aging and stress contributes to NF-kB-driven inflammation and cardiovascular risk. PNAS, 2019 demonstrated that age- and stress-related FKBP5 upregulation drives chronic inflammation through NF-kB signaling, linking this variant to cardiovascular risk in cohorts totaling over 3,000 individuals.

Practical Implications

The most important message from this research is that rs1360780 is not a deterministic "risk gene" — it is an amplifier that magnifies the biological impact of stress, especially early-life stress. T-allele carriers who grow up in supportive, low-adversity environments show no elevated psychiatric risk. This makes stress management not just helpful but genetically indicated for carriers.

Regular aerobic exercise is one of the most evidence-based interventions: it improves cortisol regulation, boosts BDNF¹⁶¹⁶ BDNF
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a protein that supports neuron growth and survival. Exercise increases BDNF by 200-300%, counteracting cortisol's neurotoxic effects on the hippocampus, and can alter FKBP5 methylation patterns within 8-12 weeks. Mindfulness-based stress reduction has been shown to improve HPA axis regulation and reduce FKBP5-related inflammatory signaling. For carriers who have experienced significant adversity, trauma-focused therapy (such as EMDR or prolonged exposure therapy) addresses the epigenetic consequences directly.

The paradoxical finding that TT carriers respond faster to antidepressants is clinically relevant: if a T-carrier develops depression, this information may support confidence in trying pharmacotherapy, as the same HPA axis sensitivity that increases vulnerability may also accelerate treatment response.

Interactions

rs1360780 is in strong linkage disequilibrium with three other FKBP5 SNPs: rs9296158, rs3800373, and rs9470080. Together they form a functional haplotype that determines FKBP5 induction capacity. Most studies genotype all four, and the risk effects are highly correlated (D' > 0.9).

A potential interaction with COMT (rs4680) is worth noting: FKBP5 T-carriers with COMT Met/Met genotype (slow catecholamine clearance) may experience compounded stress vulnerability — the hormonal stress response (cortisol via HPA axis) and the neurotransmitter stress response (dopamine/norepinephrine via COMT) are both prolonged. This combination would benefit most from structured daily stress management practices.

BDNF (rs6265) represents another relevant interaction: since chronic cortisol elevation damages the hippocampus, and the BDNF Val66Met variant reduces activity-dependent BDNF secretion, carriers of both risk alleles may be particularly vulnerable to stress-related cognitive decline and would benefit especially from regular aerobic exercise, which independently boosts BDNF.