Abstract
BackgroundCatechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) plays a key role in dopamine and estrogen metabolism. Recently, COMT haplotypes rather than the single polymorphism Val158Met have been reported to underlie differences in protein expression by modulating mRNA secondary structure. So far, studies investigating the epigenetic variability of the S-COMT (soluble COMT) promoter region mainly focused on phenotypical aspects, and results have been controversial.MethodsWe assessed S-COMT promoter methylation in saliva and blood derived DNA with regard to early pre- and postnatal growth as well as to genotype for polymorphisms rs6269, rs4633, and rs4680 (Val158Met) in 20 monozygotic twin pairs (mean age 4 years), who were discordant for intrauterine development due to severe feto-fetal-transfusion syndrome. Methylation levels of two previously reported partially methylated cytosines were determined by the quantitative SIRPH (SNuPE- IP RP HPLC) assay.ResultsOverall, we observed a high variability of S-COMT promoter methylation, which did not correlate with individual differences in the pre- or postnatal growth pattern. Within the twin pairs however we noted a distinct similarity that could be linked to underlying COMT genotypes. This association was subsequently confirmed in a cohort of 93 unrelated adult controls. Interestingly, 158Val-alleles were found at both ends of the epigenotypical range, which is in accordance with a recently proposed model of COMT haplotypes corresponding to a continuum of phenotypical variability.ConclusionThe strong heritable component of S-COMT promoter methylation found in our study needs to be considered in future approaches that focus on interactions between COMT epigenotype and phenotype.
Highlights
Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) plays a key role in dopamine and estrogen metabolism
Partial methylation of the MB-COMT promoter was reported in human frontal lobe brain tissues, and hypomethylation at this area was observed in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder patients [13]
The authors report on a considerable variation in the concordance of methylation levels between the twin pairs, which did not associate with auxological variables at birth [15]
Summary
Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) plays a key role in dopamine and estrogen metabolism. Environmental events which accumulate over lifetime are a second major determinant of an individual’s gene expression pattern which contributes to both physiological appearance and disease disposition The mechanisms behind this intra-generational adaptation are complex and involve epigenetic processes such as chromatin modification and DNA methylation [7,8]. Partial methylation of the MB-COMT promoter was reported in human frontal lobe brain tissues, and hypomethylation at this area was observed in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder patients [13] No such clear association between methylation levels and disposition to schizophrenia was found, Murphy et al detected two CG sites in the S-COMT promoter region with only partial methylation in both blood and brain tissues [14]. The authors report on a considerable variation in the concordance of methylation levels between the twin pairs, which did not associate with auxological variables at birth [15]
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