Epigenetics-by-sex interaction for somatization conferred by methylation at the promoter region of SLC6A4 gene.
Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry
; 89: 125-131, 2019 03 08.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30201454
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Depression, anxiety and somatoform disorders are all more prevalent in women than in men. However, specific biological mechanisms contributing to such sex differences remain unknown. Serotonergic pathways are involved in mood and behavior regulation and thus have been suggested to be altered in several psychiatric disorders. The serotonin transporter (SERT), encoded by SLC6A4 gene, has received major attention due to its crucial role in serotonergic transmission.METHODS:
148 monozygotic twin subjects were assessed for (i) lifetime categorical diagnosis of anxious-depressive disorders, following SCID-I-based DSM-IV criteria, and (ii) current psychiatric symptomatology, from a dimensional approach, by means of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). SLC6A4 gene methylation was analyzed by means of Infinium HumanMethylation450 in a subset of the sample. CpG-specific methylation at the promoter region of SLC6A4 gene was further analyzed by means of pyrosequencing technology in the total sample.RESULTS:
SLC6A4 methylation was found to be significantly higher in women when compared to men independent of DSM-IV diagnosis. SLC6A4 methylation was further associated with the BSI-derived somatization dimension.CONCLUSIONS:
Female hypermethylation of a discrete region located within SLC6A4 promoter region could underlie differential SERT expression in women when compared to men and could be one of the causative mechanisms by which women exhibit increased prevalence of somatic symptoms.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Transtornos Somatoformes
/
Caracteres Sexuais
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Metilação de DNA
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Epigênese Genética
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Proteínas da Membrana Plasmática de Transporte de Serotonina
Tipo de estudo:
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adolescent
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Adult
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Aged
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Aged80
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry
Ano de publicação:
2019
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Espanha