5.2 ASSOCIATION BETWEEN MOLECULAR MARKERS OF NEUROENDOCRINE FUNCTION AND CELLULAR METABOLISM WITH EARLY LIFE STRESS AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

Abstract

Promoter methylation of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) gene (NR3C1) is a proposed mechanism by which early stress may impact neuroendocrine function. Mitochondria are key to cellular stress responses and recent evidence shows that mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) is increased in adults with a history of early stress or psychopathology. No prior work has examined the role of NR3C1 methylation in this association.