MK4MDD

Study Report

Reference
CitationSabunciyan S, 2012 PubMed
Full InfoSabunciyan S, Aryee MJ, Irizarry RA, Rongione M, Webster MJ, Kaufman WE et al. Genome-wide DNA methylation scan in major depressive disorder. PloS one 2012; 7(4): e34451.

Study
Hypothesis or Background While genome-wide association studies are ongoing to identify sequence variation influencing susceptibility to major depressive disorder (MDD), epigenetic marks, such as DNA methylation, which can be influenced by environment, might also play a role.
Sample Information39 postmortem frontal cortex MDD samples, 26 controls
Method DetailDNA was hybridized to our Comprehensive High-throughput Arrays for Relative Methylation (CHARM) platform, covering 3.5 million CpGs. CHARM identified 224 candidate regions with DNAm differences >10%. These regions are highly enriched for neuronal growth and development genes.
Method Keywordsmicroarray
ResultTen of 17 regions for which validation was attempted showed true DNAm differences; the greatest were in PRIMA1, with 12-15% increased DNAm in MDD (p = 0.0002-0.0003), and a concomitant decrease in gene expression. These results must be considered pilot data, however, as we could only test replication in a small number of additional brain samples (n = 16), which showed no significant difference in PRIMA1. Because PRIMA1 anchors acetylcholinesterase in neuronal membranes, decreased expression could result in decreased enzyme function and increased cholinergic transmission, consistent with a role in MDD. We observed decreased immunoreactivity for acetylcholinesterase in MDD brain with increased PRIMA1 DNAm, non-significant at p = 0.08.
ConclusionsWhile we cannot draw firm conclusions about PRIMA1 DNAm in MDD, the involvement of neuronal development genes across the set showing differential methylation suggests a role for epigenetics in the illness. Further studies using limbic system brain regions might shed additional light on this role.

Relationships reported by Sabunciyan S, 2012