Abstract
Child maltreatment not only leads to epigenetic changes, but also increases the risk of related behavioral deficits and mental disorders. These issues presumably are most closely associated with epigenetic changes in the brain, but epigenetic changes in peripheral tissues like blood are often examined instead, due to their accessibility. As such, the reliability of using the peripheral epigenome as a proxy for that of the brain is imperative. Previously, our lab has found aberrant methylation at the Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf) gene in the prefrontal cortex of rats following aversive caregiving. The current study examined whether aversive caregiving alters Bdnf DNA methylation in the blood compared to the prefrontal cortex. It was revealed that DNA methylation associated with adversity increased in both tissues, but this methylation was not correlated between tissues. These findings indicate that group trends in Bdnf methylation between blood and the brain are comparable, but variation exists among individual subjects.
Highlights
An aversive environment in early life can lead to numerous complications, including structural alterations to the brain and the stress response system and social and cognitive deficits (Cicchetti and Toth, 2005; De Bellis, 2005; Gould et al, 2012)
The Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf ) gene is involved in brain development, neuroplasticity, and synaptic transmission, and changes in its gene expression have been associated with numerous mental disorders (Binder and Scharfman, 2004; Zheng et al, 2012; Zheleznyakova et al, 2016)
The current study aimed to investigate how closely Bdnf methylation patterns in the blood reflect that of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) following aversive caregiving
Summary
An aversive environment in early life can lead to numerous complications, including structural alterations to the brain and the stress response system and social and cognitive deficits (Cicchetti and Toth, 2005; De Bellis, 2005; Gould et al, 2012). Child maltreatment puts one at greater risk for numerous mental disorders, including depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and schizophrenia (Gibb et al, 2003; Widom et al, 2007; Li et al, 2016; Bahari-Javan et al, 2017; Kefeli et al, 2018). Epigenetic alterations such as DNA methylation are a product of early-life adversity (Weaver et al, 2004; McGowan et al, 2009; Roth et al, 2009; Franklin et al, 2010; Unternaehrer et al, 2015). DNA methylation at the Bdnf gene has been seen in both brain tissue
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