Abstract

Recent models propose deoxyribonucleic acid methylation of key neuro-regulatory genes as a molecular mechanism underlying the increased risk of mental disorder associated with early life adversity (ELA). The goal of this study was to examine the association of ELA with oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) methylation among young adults. Drawing from a 21-year longitudinal cohort, we compared adulthood OXTR methylation frequency of 46 adults (23 males and 23 females) selected for high or low ELA exposure based on childhood socioeconomic status and exposure to physical and sexual abuse during childhood and adolescence. Associations between OXTR methylation and teacher-rated childhood trajectories of anxiousness were also assessed. ELA exposure was associated with one significant CpG site in the first intron among females, but not among males. Similarly, childhood trajectories of anxiousness were related to one significant CpG site within the promoter region among females, but not among males. This study suggests that females might be more sensitive to the impact of ELA on OXTR methylation than males.

Details

Title
Associations among oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) DNA methylation in adulthood, exposure to early life adversity, and childhood trajectories of anxiousness
Author
Gouin, J P 1 ; Zhou, Q Q 2 ; Booij, L 3 ; Boivin, M 4 ; Côté, S M 5 ; Hébert, M 6 ; Ouellet-Morin, I 7 ; Szyf, M 8 ; Tremblay, R E 9 ; Turecki, G 10 ; Vitaro, F 11 

 Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada; Research Unit on Children’s Psychosocial Maladjustment (GRIP), University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada 
 Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada 
 Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada; Sainte-Justine Hospital Research Center, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada; Research Unit on Children’s Psychosocial Maladjustment (GRIP), University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada 
 Research Unit on Children’s Psychosocial Maladjustment (GRIP), Laval University, Québec, Canada; Institute of Genetic, Neurobiological, and Social Foundations of Child Development, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russian Federation; School of Psychology, Laval University, Québec, Canada 
 Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada; Research Unit on Children’s Psychosocial Maladjustment (GRIP), University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada; Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, INSERM and Bordeaux University, Bordeaux, France 
 Department of Sexology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Canada 
 Research Unit on Children’s Psychosocial Maladjustment (GRIP), University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada; Department of Criminology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada 
 Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Canada 
 Research Unit on Children’s Psychosocial Maladjustment (GRIP), University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada; Departments of Pediatrics and Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada; School of Public Health, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland 
10  Research Unit on Children’s Psychosocial Maladjustment (GRIP), University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada 
11  Research Unit on Children’s Psychosocial Maladjustment (GRIP), University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada; School of Psychoeducation, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada 
Pages
1-14
Publication year
2017
Publication date
Aug 2017
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
1957151288
Copyright
© 2017. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.