1 2995 210 GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS IN FOLATE PATHWAY ENZYMES, DRD4 AND GSTM1 ARE RELATED TO TEMPOROMANDIBULAR DISORDER. BACKGROUND: TEMPOROMANDIBULAR DISORDER (TMD) IS A MULTIFACTORIAL SYNDROME RELATED TO A CRITICAL PERIOD OF HUMAN LIFE. TMD HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL DYSFUNCTIONS, OXIDATIVE STATE AND SEXUAL DIMORPHISM WITH COINCIDENTAL OCCURRENCE ALONG THE PUBERTAL DEVELOPMENT. IN THIS WORK WE STUDY THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN TMD AND GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS OF FOLATE METABOLISM, NEUROTRANSMISSION, OXIDATIVE AND HORMONAL METABOLISM. FOLATE METABOLISM, WHICH DEPENDS ON GENES VARIATIONS AND DIET, IS DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC VARIATIONS THAT CAN INFLUENCE THE CHANGES OF LAST GROWING PERIOD OF DEVELOPMENT IN HUMAN AND THE APPEARANCE OF THE TMD. METHODS: A CASE-CONTROL STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS ABOVE DESCRIBED ON TMD. A TOTAL OF 229 INDIVIDUALS (69% WOMEN) WERE INCLUDED AT THE STUDY; 86 WERE PATIENTS WITH TMD AND 143 WERE HEALTHY CONTROL SUBJECTS. SUBJECTS UNDERWENT TO A CLINICAL EXAMINATION FOLLOWING THE GUIDELINES BY THE RESEARCH DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA FOR TEMPOROMANDIBULAR DISORDERS (RDC/TMD). GENOTYPING OF 20 SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISMS (SNPS), DIVIDED IN TWO GROUPS, WAS PERFORMED BY MULTIPLEX MINISEQUENCING PRECEDED BY MULTIPLEX PCR. OTHER SEVEN GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS DIFFERENT FROM SNPS (DELETIONS, INSERTIONS, TANDEM REPEAT, NULL GENOTYPE) WERE ACHIEVED BY A MULTIPLEX-PCR. A CHI-SQUARE TEST WAS PERFORMED TO DETERMINE THE DIFFERENCES IN GENOTYPE AND ALLELIC FREQUENCIES BETWEEN TMD PATIENTS AND HEALTHY SUBJECTS. TO ESTIMATE TMD RISK, IN THOSE POLYMORPHISMS THAT SHOWN SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES, ODDS RATIO (OR) WITH A 95% OF CONFIDENCE INTERVAL WERE CALCULATED. RESULTS: SIX OF THE POLYMORPHISMS SHOWED STATISTICAL ASSOCIATIONS WITH TMD. FOUR OF THEM ARE RELATED TO ENZYMES OF FOLATES METABOLISM: ALLELE G OF SERINE HYDOXYMETHYLTRANSFERASE 1 (SHMT1) RS1979277 (OR = 3.99; 95%CI 1.72, 9.25; P = 0.002), ALLELE G OF SHMT1 RS638416 (OR = 2.80; 95%CI 1.51, 5.21; P = 0.013), ALLELE T OF METHYLENTETRAHYDROFOLATE DEHYDROGENASE (MTHFD) RS2236225 (OR = 3.09; 95%CI 1.27, 7.50; P = 0.016) AND ALLELE A OF METHIONINE SYNTHASE REDUCTASE (MTRR) RS1801394 (OR = 2.35; 95CI 1.10, 5.00; P = 0.037). AN INFLAMMATORY OXIDATIVE STRESS ENZYME, GLUTHATIONE S-TRANFERASE MU-1(GSTM1), NULL ALLELE (OR = 2.21; 95%CI 1.24, 4.36; P = 0.030) AND A NEUROTRANSMISSION RECEPTOR, DOPAMINE RECEPTOR D4 (DRD4), LONG ALLELE OF 48 BP-REPEAT (OR = 3.62; 95%CI 0.76, 17.26; P = 0.161). CONCLUSIONS: SOME GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS RELATED TO FOLATES METABOLISM, INFLAMMATORY OXIDATIVE STRESS, AND NEUROTRANSMISSION RESPONSES TO PAIN, HAS BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED TO TMD SYNDROME. 2011 2 3115 30 GEROMETABOLITES: THE PSEUDOHYPOXIC AGING SIDE OF CANCER ONCOMETABOLITES. ONCOMETABOLITES ARE DEFINED AS SMALL-MOLECULE COMPONENTS (OR ENANTIOMERS) OF NORMAL METABOLISM WHOSE ACCUMULATION CAUSES SIGNALING DYSREGULATION TO ESTABLISH A MILIEU THAT INITIATES CARCINOGENESIS. IN A SIMILAR MANNER, WE PROPOSE THE TERM "GEROMETABOLITES" TO REFER TO SMALL-MOLECULE COMPONENTS OF NORMAL METABOLISM WHOSE DEPLETION CAUSES SIGNALING DYSREGULATION TO ESTABLISH A MILIEU THAT DRIVES AGING. IN AN INVESTIGATION OF THE PATHOGENIC ACTIVITIES OF THE CURRENTLY RECOGNIZED ONCOMETABOLITES R(-)-2-HYDROXYGLUTARATE (2-HG), FUMARATE, AND SUCCINATE, WHICH ACCUMULATE DUE TO MUTATIONS IN ISOCITRATE DEHYDROGENASES (IDH), FUMARATE HYDRATASE (FH), AND SUCCINATE DEHYDROGENASE (SDH), RESPECTIVELY, WE ILLUSTRATE THE FACT THAT METABOLIC PSEUDOHYPOXIA, THE ACCUMULATION OF HYPOXIA-INDUCIBLE FACTOR (HIFALPHA) UNDER NORMOXIC CONDITIONS, AND THE SUBSEQUENT WARBURG-LIKE REPROGRAMMING THAT SHIFTS GLUCOSE METABOLISM FROM THE OXIDATIVE PATHWAY TO AEROBIC GLYCOLYSIS ARE THE SAME MECHANISMS THROUGH WHICH THE DECLINE OF THE "GEROMETABOLITE" NICOTINAMIDE ADENINE DINUCLEOTIDE (NAD)(+) REVERSIBLY DISRUPTS NUCLEAR-MITOCHONDRIAL COMMUNICATION AND CONTRIBUTES TO THE DECLINE IN MITOCHONDRIAL FUNCTION WITH AGE. FROM AN EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE, IT IS REASONABLE TO VIEW NAD(+)-DRIVEN MITOCHONDRIAL HOMEOSTASIS AS A CONSERVED RESPONSE TO CHANGES IN ENERGY SUPPLIES AND OXYGEN LEVELS. SIMILARLY, THE NATURAL ABILITY OF 2-HG TO SIGNIFICANTLY ALTER EPIGENETICS MIGHT REFLECT AN EVOLUTIONARILY ANCIENT ROLE OF CERTAIN METABOLITES TO SIGNAL FOR ELEVATED GLUTAMINE/GLUTAMATE METABOLISM AND/OR OXYGEN DEFICIENCY. HOWEVER, WHEN CHRONICALLY ALTERED, THESE RESPONSES BECOME CONSERVED CAUSES OF AGING AND CANCER. BECAUSE HIFALPHA-DRIVEN PSEUDOHYPOXIA MIGHT DRIVE THE OVERPRODUCTION OF 2-HG, THE INTRIGUING POSSIBILITY EXISTS THAT THE DECLINE OF GEROMETABOLITES SUCH AS NAD(+) COULD PROMOTE THE CHRONIC ACCUMULATION OF ONCOMETABOLITES IN NORMAL CELLS DURING AGING. IF THE SOLE ACTIVATION OF A WARBURG-LIKE METABOLIC REPROGRAMMING IN NORMAL TISSUES MIGHT BE ABLE TO SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE THE ENDOGENOUS PRODUCTION OF BONA FIDE ETIOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS IN CANCER, SUCH AS ONCOMETABOLITES, THIS UNDESIRABLE TRADE-OFF BETWEEN MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION AND ACTIVATION OF ONCOMETABOLITES PRODUCTION MIGHT THEN PAVE THE WAY FOR THE EPIGENETIC INITIATION OF CARCINOGENESIS IN A STRICTLY METABOLIC-DEPENDENT MANNER. PERHAPS IT IS TIME TO DEFINITELY ADOPT THE VIEW THAT AGING AND AGING DISEASES INCLUDING CANCER ARE GOVERNED BY A PIVOTAL REGULATORY ROLE OF METABOLIC REPROGRAMMING IN CELL FATE DECISIONS. 2014 3 3179 37 HAIR CORTISOL AS A HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL AXIS BIOMARKER IN PREGNANT WOMEN WITH ASTHMA: A RETROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY. BACKGROUND: CORTISOL IS A HORMONE INVOLVED IN MANY PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS INCLUDING FETAL MATURATION AND EPIGENETIC PROGRAMMING DURING PREGNANCY. THIS STUDY AIMED TO USE HAIR CORTISOL AS A BIOMARKER OF CHRONIC INHALED CORTICOSTEROID (ICS) EXPOSURE AND ASSESS THE POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF ASTHMA ON THE HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL (HPA) AXIS IN PREGNANT WOMEN. WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT PREGNANT WOMEN WITH ASTHMA TREATED WITH ICS WOULD EXHIBIT LOWER HAIR CORTISOL CONCENTRATIONS, INDICATIVE OF ADRENAL SUPPRESSION, COMPARED TO WOMEN WITH ASTHMA NOT USING ICS AND WOMEN WHO DO NOT HAVE ASTHMA. METHODS: WE PERFORMED AN OBSERVATIONAL RETROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY. HAIR SAMPLES WERE ANALYZED FROM PREGNANT WOMEN WITH ASTHMA, WITH (N = 56) AND WITHOUT (N = 31) ICS TREATMENT, AND PREGNANT WOMEN WITHOUT ASTHMA (N = 31). HAIR SAMPLES WERE SEGMENTED BASED ON THE GROWTH RATE OF 1 CM/MONTH AND ANALYZED BY ENZYME IMMUNOASSAY TO PROVIDE CORTISOL CONCENTRATIONS CORRESPONDING TO PRECONCEPTION, TRIMESTERS 1-3, AND POSTPARTUM. HAIR CORTISOL CONCENTRATIONS WERE COMPARED WITHIN AND AMONG THE GROUPS USING NON-PARAMETRIC STATISTICAL TESTS. RESULTS: HAIR CORTISOL CONCENTRATIONS INCREASED ACROSS TRIMESTERS FOR ALL THREE GROUPS, BUT THIS INCREASE WAS DAMPENED IN WOMEN WITH ASTHMA (P = 0.03 FOR CONTROLS VS. ICS TREATED AND CONTROLS VS. NO ICS). ICS TREATED WOMEN TAKING MORE THAN FIVE DOSES PER WEEK HAD HAIR CORTISOL CONCENTRATIONS 47 % LOWER IN THIRD TRIMESTER THAN CONTROLS. LINEAR REGRESSION OF THE THIRD TRIMESTER HAIR CORTISOL RESULTS IDENTIFIED ASTHMA AS A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR WHEN COMPARING CONSISTENT ICS USE OR ASTHMA AS THE PREDICTOR (F(1, 25) = 9.7, P = 0.005, R(2) ADJ = 0.257). CONCLUSIONS: HAIR CORTISOL SUCCESSFULLY SHOWED THE EXPECTED CHANGE IN CORTISOL OVER THE COURSE OF PREGNANCY AND MAY BE A USEFUL BIOMARKER OF HPA AXIS FUNCTION IN PREGNANT WOMEN WITH ASTHMA. THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF DECREASED MATERNAL CORTISOL IN WOMEN WITH ASTHMA ON PERINATAL OUTCOMES REMAINS TO BE DETERMINED. 2016 4 1672 36 DRD4 METHYLATION AS A POTENTIAL BIOMARKER FOR PHYSICAL AGGRESSION: AN EPIGENOME-WIDE, CROSS-TISSUE INVESTIGATION. EPIGENETIC PROCESSES THAT REGULATE GENE EXPRESSION, SUCH AS DNA METHYLATION (DNAM), HAVE BEEN LINKED TO INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN PHYSICAL AGGRESSION. YET, IT IS CURRENTLY UNCLEAR WHETHER: (A) DNAM PATTERNS IN HUMANS ASSOCIATE WITH PHYSICAL AGGRESSION INDEPENDENTLY OF OTHER CO-OCCURRING PSYCHIATRIC AND BEHAVIORAL SYMPTOMS; (B) WHETHER THESE PATTERNS ARE OBSERVABLE ACROSS MULTIPLE TISSUES; AND (C) WHETHER THEY MAY FUNCTION AS A CAUSAL VERSUS NONCAUSAL BIOMARKER OF PHYSICAL AGGRESSION. HERE, WE USED A MULTISAMPLE, CROSS-TISSUE DESIGN TO ADDRESS THESE QUESTIONS. FIRST, WE EXAMINED GENOME-WIDE DNAM PATTERNS (BUCCAL SWABS; ILLUMINA 450K) ASSOCIATED WITH ENGAGEMENT IN PHYSICAL FIGHTS IN A SAMPLE OF HIGH-RISK YOUTH (N = 119; AGE = 16-24 YEARS; 53% FEMALE). WE IDENTIFIED ONE DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED REGION IN DRD4, WHICH SURVIVED GENOME-WIDE CORRECTION, ASSOCIATED WITH PHYSICAL AGGRESSION ABOVE AND BEYOND CO-OCCURRING SYMPTOMATOLOGY (E.G., ADHD, SUBSTANCE USE), AND SHOWED STRONG CROSS-TISSUE CONCORDANCE WITH BOTH BLOOD AND BRAIN. SECOND, WE FOUND THAT DNAM SITES WITHIN THIS REGION WERE ALSO DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED IN AN INDEPENDENT SAMPLE OF YOUNG ADULTS, BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS WITH A HISTORY OF CHRONIC-HIGH VERSUS LOW PHYSICAL AGGRESSION (PERIPHERAL T CELLS; AGES 26-28). FINALLY, WE RAN A MENDELIAN RANDOMIZATION ANALYSIS USING GWAS DATA FROM THE EAGLE CONSORTIUM TO TEST FOR A CAUSAL ASSOCIATION OF DRD4 METHYLATION WITH PHYSICAL AGGRESSION. ONLY ONE GENETIC INSTRUMENT WAS ELIGIBLE FOR THE ANALYSIS, AND RESULTS PROVIDED NO EVIDENCE FOR A CAUSAL ASSOCIATION. OVERALL, OUR FINDINGS LEND SUPPORT FOR PERIPHERAL DRD4 METHYLATION AS A POTENTIAL BIOMARKER OF PHYSICALLY AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR, WITH NO EVIDENCE YET OF A CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP. 2018 5 169 42 ABNORMALITIES OF AMPK ACTIVATION AND GLUCOSE UPTAKE IN CULTURED SKELETAL MUSCLE CELLS FROM INDIVIDUALS WITH CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME. BACKGROUND: POST EXERTIONAL MUSCLE FATIGUE IS A KEY FEATURE IN CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME (CFS). ABNORMALITIES OF SKELETAL MUSCLE FUNCTION HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED IN SOME BUT NOT ALL PATIENTS WITH CFS. TO TRY TO LIMIT POTENTIAL CONFOUNDERS THAT MIGHT CONTRIBUTE TO THIS CLINICAL HETEROGENEITY, WE DEVELOPED A NOVEL IN VITRO SYSTEM THAT ALLOWS COMPARISON OF AMP KINASE (AMPK) ACTIVATION AND METABOLIC RESPONSES TO EXERCISE IN CULTURED SKELETAL MUSCLE CELLS FROM CFS PATIENTS AND CONTROL SUBJECTS. METHODS: SKELETAL MUSCLE CELL CULTURES WERE ESTABLISHED FROM 10 SUBJECTS WITH CFS AND 7 AGE-MATCHED CONTROLS, SUBJECTED TO ELECTRICAL PULSE STIMULATION (EPS) FOR UP TO 24H AND EXAMINED FOR CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH EXERCISE. RESULTS: IN THE BASAL STATE, CFS CULTURES SHOWED INCREASED MYOGENIN EXPRESSION BUT DECREASED IL6 SECRETION DURING DIFFERENTIATION COMPARED WITH CONTROL CULTURES. CONTROL CULTURES SUBJECTED TO 16 H EPS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN BOTH AMPK PHOSPHORYLATION AND GLUCOSE UPTAKE COMPARED WITH UNSTIMULATED CELLS. IN CONTRAST, CFS CULTURES SHOWED NO INCREASE IN AMPK PHOSPHORYLATION OR GLUCOSE UPTAKE AFTER 16 H EPS. HOWEVER, GLUCOSE UPTAKE REMAINED RESPONSIVE TO INSULIN IN THE CFS CELLS POINTING TO AN EXERCISE-RELATED DEFECT. IL6 SECRETION IN RESPONSE TO EPS WAS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED IN CFS COMPARED WITH CONTROL CULTURES AT ALL TIME POINTS MEASURED. CONCLUSION: EPS IS AN EFFECTIVE MODEL FOR ELICITING MUSCLE CONTRACTION AND THE METABOLIC CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH EXERCISE IN CULTURED SKELETAL MUSCLE CELLS. WE FOUND FOUR MAIN DIFFERENCES IN CULTURED SKELETAL MUSCLE CELLS FROM SUBJECTS WITH CFS; INCREASED MYOGENIN EXPRESSION IN THE BASAL STATE, IMPAIRED ACTIVATION OF AMPK, IMPAIRED STIMULATION OF GLUCOSE UPTAKE AND DIMINISHED RELEASE OF IL6. THE RETENTION OF THESE DIFFERENCES IN CULTURED MUSCLE CELLS FROM CFS SUBJECTS POINTS TO A GENETIC/EPIGENETIC MECHANISM, AND PROVIDES A SYSTEM TO IDENTIFY NOVEL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS. 2015 6 223 37 ACUTE PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS-MEDIATED CHANGES IN THE EXPRESSION AND METHYLATION OF PERFORIN IN CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME. PERFORIN (PRF1) IS ESSENTIAL FOR IMMUNE SURVEILLANCE AND STUDIES REPORT DECREASED PERFORIN IN CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME (CFS), AN ILLNESS POTENTIALLY ASSOCIATED WITH STRESS AND/OR INFECTION. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT STRESS CAN INFLUENCE REGULATION OF PRF1 EXPRESSION, AND THAT THIS REGULATION WILL DIFFER BETWEEN CFS AND NON-FATIGUED (NF) CONTROLS. WE USED THE TRIER SOCIAL STRESS TEST (TSST) AS A STANDARDIZED ACUTE PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS, AND EVALUATED ITS EFFECT ON PRF1 EXPRESSION AND METHYLATION IN CFS (N = 34) COMPARED WITH NF (N = 47) PARTICIPANTS. DURING THE TSST, NATURAL KILLER (NK) CELLS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN BOTH CFS (P = <0.0001) AND NF SUBJECTS (P = <0.0001). UNLIKE PREVIOUS REPORTS, THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN PRF1 EXPRESSION AT BASELINE OR DURING TSST BETWEEN CFS AND NF. HOWEVER, WHOLE BLOOD PRF1 EXPRESSION INCREASED 1.6 FOLD DURING THE TSST IN BOTH CFS (P = 0.0003) AND NF (P = <0.0001). FURTHER, THE PEAK RESPONSE IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE TSST WAS LOWER IN CFS COMPARED WITH NF (P = 0.04). IN ADDITION, AT 1.5 HOURS POST TSST, PRF1 EXPRESSION WAS ELEVATED IN CFS COMPARED WITH NF (WHOLE BLOOD, P = 0.06; PBMC, P = 0.02). METHYLATION OF SEVEN CPG SITES IN THE METHYLATION SENSITIVE REGION OF THE PRF1 PROMOTER RANGED FROM 38%-79% WITH NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CFS AND NF. ALTHOUGH, THE AVERAGE BASELINE METHYLATION OF ALL SEVEN CPG SITES DID NOT DIFFER BETWEEN CFS AND NF GROUPS, IT SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT NEGATIVE CORRELATION WITH PRF1 EXPRESSION AT ALL TSST TIME POINTS IN BOTH CFS (R = -0.56, P = <0.0001) AND NF (R = -0.38, P = <0.0001). AMONG PARTICIPANTS WITH HIGH AVERAGE METHYLATION (>/=65%), PRF1 EXPRESSION WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IN CFS THAN NF SUBJECTS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING TSST. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST METHYLATION COULD BE AN IMPORTANT EPIGENETIC DETERMINANT OF INTER-INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN PRF1 EXPRESSION AND THAT THE DIFFERENCES IN PRF1 EXPRESSION AND METHYLATION BETWEEN CFS AND NF IN THE ACUTE STRESS RESPONSE REQUIRE FURTHER INVESTIGATION. 2013 7 1746 35 EARLY LIFE ADVERSITY, PUBERTAL TIMING, AND EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION IN ADULTHOOD. BACKGROUND: GIVEN ASSOCIATIONS LINKING EARLY LIFE ADVERSITY, PUBERTAL TIMING, AND BIOLOGICAL AGING, WE EXAMINED THE DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS OF EARLY LIFE TRAUMA ON ADULT BIOLOGICAL AGING (VIA AGE OF MENARCHE). METHODS: PARTICIPANTS WERE PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN (N = 183). PATH MODELS EVALUATED WHETHER EARLY LIFE TRAUMA PREDICTED EARLY PUBERTAL TIMING AND THEREBY, ADULT EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION (INDEXED VIA FOUR EPIGENETIC CLOCKS: HORVATH DNAM AGE, HANNUM DNAM AGE, DNAM PHENOAGE, AND DNAM GRIMAGE). SECONDARY ANALYSES EXPLORED THE EFFECTS OF TYPE OF TRAUMA (ABUSE AND NEGLECT) AND ADULT CHRONIC STRESS STATUS (CAREGIVER OF CHILD WITH AUTISM AND NON-CAREGIVER). RESULTS: EARLY LIFE TRAUMA AND EARLIER AGE AT MENARCHE INDEPENDENTLY PREDICTED ACCELERATED AGING BASED ON ONE OF THE FOUR EPIGENETIC CLOCKS, DNAM GRIMAGE, THOUGH EARLY LIFE TRAUMA WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH AGE OF MENARCHE. CHILDHOOD ABUSE, BUT NOT NEGLECT, PREDICTED FASTER EPIGENETIC AGING; RESULTS DID NOT DIFFER BY CHRONIC STRESS STATUS. CONCLUSIONS: EARLY TRAUMA AND EARLY MENARCHE APPEAR TO EXERT INDEPENDENT EFFECTS ON DNAM GRIMAGE, WHICH HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE THE STRONGEST EPIGENETIC PREDICTOR OF MORTALITY RISK. THIS STUDY IDENTIFIES A POTENTIAL CORRELATE OR DETERMINANT OF ACCELERATED EPIGENETIC AGING-MENARCHEAL AGE. FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD ADDRESS THE LIMITATIONS OF THIS STUDY BY USING RACIALLY DIVERSE SAMPLES. 2021 8 1189 44 CORRELATION BETWEEN GLOBAL METHYLATION LEVEL OF PERIPHERAL BLOOD LEUKOCYTES AND SERUM C REACTIVE PROTEIN LEVEL MODIFIED BY MTHFR POLYMORPHISM: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY. BACKGROUND: CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY CONDITIONS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHER TUMOR INCIDENCE THROUGH EPIGENETIC AND GENETIC ALTERATIONS. HERE, WE FOCUSED ON AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN AN INFLAMMATION MARKER, C-REACTIVE-PROTEIN (CRP), AND GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION LEVELS OF PERIPHERAL BLOOD LEUKOCYTES. METHODS: THE SUBJECTS WERE 384 HEALTHY JAPANESE WOMEN ENROLLED AS THE CONTROL GROUP OF A CASE-CONTROL STUDY FOR BREAST CANCER CONDUCTED FROM 2001 TO 2005. GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION WAS QUANTIFIED BY LUMINOMETRIC METHYLATION ASSAY (LUMA). RESULTS: WITH ADJUSTMENT FOR LIFESTYLE-RELATED FACTORS, INCLUDING FOLATE INTAKE, THE GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION LEVEL OF PERIPHERAL BLOOD LEUKOCYTES WAS SIGNIFICANTLY BUT WEAKLY INCREASED BY 0.43% PER QUARTILE CATEGORY FOR CRP (P FOR TREND = 0.010). ESTIMATED METHYLATION LEVELS STRATIFIED BY CRP QUARTILE WERE 70.0%, 70.8%, 71.4%, AND 71.3%, RESPECTIVELY. IN ADDITION, INTERACTION BETWEEN POLYMORPHISM OF MTHFR (RS1801133, KNOWN AS C677T) AND CRP WAS SIGNIFICANT (P FOR INTERACTION = 0.046); THE GLOBAL METHYLATION LEVEL WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED BY 0.61% PER QUARTILE CATEGORY FOR CRP IN THE CT/TT GROUP (THOSE WITH THE MINOR ALLELE T, P FOR TREND = 0.001), WHEREAS NO ASSOCIATION WAS OBSERVED IN THE CC GROUP (WILD TYPE). CONCLUSIONS: OUR STUDY SUGGESTS THAT CRP CONCENTRATION IS WEAKLY ASSOCIATED WITH GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION LEVEL. HOWEVER, THIS ASSOCIATION WAS OBSERVED MORE CLEARLY IN INDIVIDUALS WITH THE MINOR ALLELE OF THE MTHFR MISSENSE SNP RS1801133. BY ELUCIDATING THE COMPLEX MECHANISM OF THE REGULATION OF DNA METHYLATION BY BOTH ACQUIRED AND GENETIC FACTORS, OUR RESULTS MAY BE IMPORTANT FOR CANCER PREVENTION. 2018 9 1939 34 EPIDEMIOLOGY AND (PATHO)PHYSIOLOGY OF FOLIC ACID SUPPLEMENT USE IN OBESE WOMEN BEFORE AND DURING PREGNANCY. PRECONCEPTION FOLIC ACID SUPPLEMENT USE IS A WELL-KNOWN METHOD OF PRIMARY PREVENTION OF NEURAL TUBE DEFECTS (NTDS). OBESE WOMEN ARE AT A HIGHER RISK FOR HAVING A CHILD WITH A NTD. AS DIFFERENT INTERNATIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS ON FOLIC ACID SUPPLEMENT USE FOR OBESE WOMEN BEFORE AND DURING PREGNANCY EXIST, THIS NARRATIVE REVIEW PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF EPIDEMIOLOGY OF FOLATE DEFICIENCY IN OBESE (PRE)PREGNANT WOMEN, ELABORATES ON POTENTIAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING FOLATE DEFICIENCY, AND DISCUSSES CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE USAGE OF HIGHER DOSES OF FOLIC ACID SUPPLEMENTS. WOMEN WITH OBESITY MORE OFTEN SUFFER FROM AN ABSOLUTE FOLATE DEFICIENCY, AS THEY ARE LESS COMPLIANT TO PERICONCEPTIONAL FOLIC ACID SUPPLEMENT USE RECOMMENDATIONS. IN ADDITION, THEIR DIETARY FOLATE INTAKE IS LIMITED DUE TO AN UNBALANCED DIET (RELATIVE MALNUTRITION). THE ASSOCIATION OF OBESITY AND NTDS ALSO SEEMS TO BE INDEPENDENT OF FOLATE INTAKE, WITH STUDIES SUGGESTING AN INCREASED NEED OF FOLATE (RELATIVE DEFICIENCY) DUE TO DERANGEMENTS INVOLVED IN OTHER PATHWAYS. THE RELATIVE FOLATE DEFICIENCY, AS A RESULT OF AN INCREASED METABOLIC NEED FOR FOLATE IN OBESE WOMEN, CAN BE DUE TO: (1) LOW-GRADE CHRONIC INFLAMMATION (2) INSULIN RESISTANCE, (3) INOSITOL, AND (4) DYSBIOTIC GUT MICROBIOME, WHICH PLAYS A ROLE IN FOLATE PRODUCTION AND UPTAKE. IN ALL THESE PATHWAYS, THE FOLATE-DEPENDENT ONE-CARBON METABOLISM IS INVOLVED. IN CONCLUSION, SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE OF THE INVOLVEMENT OF SEVERAL FOLATE-RELATED PATHWAYS IMPLIES TO INCREASE THE RECOMMENDED FOLIC ACID SUPPLEMENTATION IN OBESE WOMEN. HOWEVER, THE PHYSIOLOGICAL UPTAKE OF SYNTHETIC FOLIC ACID IS LIMITED AND SIDE-EFFECTS OF UNMETABOLIZED FOLIC ACID IN MOTHERS AND OFFSPRING, IN PARTICULAR VARIATIONS IN EPIGENETIC (RE)PROGRAMMING WITH LONG-TERM HEALTH EFFECTS, CANNOT BE EXCLUDED. THEREFORE, WE EMPHASIZE ON THE URGENT NEED FOR FURTHER RESEARCH AND PRECONCEPTION PERSONALIZED COUNSELING ON FOLATE STATUS, LIFESTYLE, AND MEDICAL CONDITIONS. 2021 10 3452 28 HYPERTENSIVE DISORDERS OF PREGNANCY SHARE COMMON CFDNA METHYLATION PROFILES. HYPERTENSIVE DISORDERS OF PREGNANCY (HDP) CONTRIBUTE SUBSTANTIALLY TO PERINATAL MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY. EPIGENETIC CHANGES POINT TOWARDS CARDIO-METABOLIC DYSREGULATION FOR THESE VASCULAR DISORDERS. IN EARLY PREGNANCY, EPIGENETIC CHANGES USING CELL FREE DNA (CFDNA) ARE LARGELY UNEXPLORED. WE AIMED TO INVESTIGATE THESE IN HDP BETWEEN 11 AND 14 WEEKS OF GESTATION BY ANALYSIS OF CFDNA METHYLATION PROFILES IN PATIENTS WITH HYPERTENSIVE DISORDERS. WE IDENTIFIED PATIENTS WITHOUT CHRONIC HYPERTENSION BUT WITH SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENT OF PREECLAMPSIA (PE) (N = 11), WITH CHRONIC HYPERTENSION (HT) BUT WITHOUT PE DEVELOPMENT (N = 14), AND LACKING BOTH PE AND HT (N = 422). WE MATCHED PATIENTS ACCORDING TO PE RISK FACTORS INTO THREE GROUPS (N = 5 EACH GROUP): (1) PE: NO HT BUT PE DEVELOPMENT, (2) HT: CHRONIC HYPERTENSION BUT NO PE AND (3) CONTROL: NO PE OR HT. WE SUCCESSFULLY OPTIMIZED OUR CFDNA ISOLATION PROCESS PRIOR TO WHOLE GENOME BISULFITE SEQUENCING. ANALYSIS OF CFDNA METHYLATION CHANGES INDICATE A COMMON PREDISPOSITION IN PE AND HT GROUPS, CHIEFLY OF MATERNAL ORIGIN. ASSESSMENT OF SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED REGIONS AND ANNOTATED GENES POINT TOWARDS A COMMON CARDIOVASCULAR PREDISPOSITION IN PREECLAMPSIA AND HYPERTENSION GROUPS IN THE FIRST TRIMESTER. WE POSTULATE THE PIVOTAL ROLE OF THE MATERNAL CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM IN HDP, WHICH IS ALREADY EVIDENT IN THE FIRST TRIMESTER. 2022 11 6166 32 THE GLUTATHIONE SYSTEM: A NEW DRUG TARGET IN NEUROIMMUNE DISORDERS. GLUTATHIONE (GSH) HAS A CRUCIAL ROLE IN CELLULAR SIGNALING AND ANTIOXIDANT DEFENSES EITHER BY REACTING DIRECTLY WITH REACTIVE OXYGEN OR NITROGEN SPECIES OR BY ACTING AS AN ESSENTIAL COFACTOR FOR GSH S-TRANSFERASES AND GLUTATHIONE PEROXIDASES. GSH ACTING IN CONCERT WITH ITS DEPENDENT ENZYMES, KNOWN AS THE GLUTATHIONE SYSTEM, IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DETOXIFICATION OF REACTIVE OXYGEN AND NITROGEN SPECIES (ROS/RNS) AND ELECTROPHILES PRODUCED BY XENOBIOTICS. ADEQUATE LEVELS OF GSH ARE ESSENTIAL FOR THE OPTIMAL FUNCTIONING OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM IN GENERAL AND T CELL ACTIVATION AND DIFFERENTIATION IN PARTICULAR. GSH IS A UBIQUITOUS REGULATOR OF THE CELL CYCLE PER SE. GSH ALSO HAS CRUCIAL FUNCTIONS IN THE BRAIN AS AN ANTIOXIDANT, NEUROMODULATOR, NEUROTRANSMITTER, AND ENABLER OF NEURON SURVIVAL. DEPLETION OF GSH LEADS TO EXACERBATION OF DAMAGE BY OXIDATIVE AND NITROSATIVE STRESS; HYPERNITROSYLATION; INCREASED LEVELS OF PROINFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS AND INFLAMMATORY POTENTIAL; DYSFUNCTIONS OF INTRACELLULAR SIGNALING NETWORKS, E.G., P53, NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPAB, AND JANUS KINASES; DECREASED CELL PROLIFERATION AND DNA SYNTHESIS; INACTIVATION OF COMPLEX I OF THE ELECTRON TRANSPORT CHAIN; ACTIVATION OF CYTOCHROME C AND THE APOPTOTIC MACHINERY; BLOCKADE OF THE METHIONINE CYCLE; AND COMPROMISED EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION. AS SUCH, GSH DEPLETION HAS MARKED CONSEQUENCES FOR THE HOMEOSTATIC CONTROL OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM, OXIDATIVE AND NITROSATIVE STRESS (O&NS) PATHWAYS, REGULATION OF ENERGY PRODUCTION, AND MITOCHONDRIAL SURVIVAL AS WELL. GSH DEPLETION AND CONCOMITANT INCREASE IN O&NS AND MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTIONS PLAY A ROLE IN THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF DIVERSE NEUROIMMUNE DISORDERS, INCLUDING DEPRESSION, MYALGIC ENCEPHALOMYELITIS/CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME AND PARKINSON'S DISEASE, SUGGESTING THAT DEPLETED GSH IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THESE DISEASES. THERAPEUTICAL INTERVENTIONS THAT AIM TO INCREASE GSH CONCENTRATIONS IN VIVO INCLUDE N-ACETYL CYSTEINE; NRF-2 ACTIVATION VIA HYPERBARIC OXYGEN THERAPY; DIMETHYL FUMARATE; PHYTOCHEMICALS, INCLUDING CURCUMIN, RESVERATROL, AND CINNAMON; AND FOLATE SUPPLEMENTATION. 2014 12 3850 35 IS GENDER A FACTOR AFFECTING LONG-TERM HETEROTOPIC OSSIFICATION INCIDENCE AFTER SINGLE-LEVEL CERVICAL DISC ARTHROPLASTY? BACKGROUND: CERVICAL DISC DISEASES HAVE BEEN TREATED BY CERVICAL DISC ARTHROPLASTY (CDA). NEVERTHELESS, SOME PATIENTS WILL EXPERIENCE A MOBILITY FAILURE IN THEIR CERVICAL PROSTHESES OVER TIME BECAUSE OF HETEROTOPIC OSSIFICATION. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE ROLE OF GENDER IN LONG-TERM OUTCOMES AFTER CDA. METHODS: A RETROSPECTIVE, SINGLE-CENTER STUDY OF PATIENTS WHO UNDERWENT SINGLE-LEVEL CDA WITH A BRYAN CERVICAL DISC PROSTHESIS WAS PERFORMED, INCLUDING A NARRATIVE REVIEW ABOUT GENDER DIFFERENCES IN BOTH STRUCTURAL AND BIOMECHANICAL FEATURES OF THE CERVICAL SPINE. RESULTS: STUDY PATIENTS (14 MEN, 30 WOMEN) HAD AN AVERAGE FOLLOW-UP OF 9.8 +/- 3.2 YEARS. SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES EMERGED BETWEEN GENDERS FOR SPECIFIC ITEMS IN NECK DISABILITY INDEX PREOPERATIVE EVALUATION, WITH WOMEN REPORTING WORSE PAIN SCORES (P = 0.05). AFTER STRATIFICATION BY AGE, WE FOUND A HIGHER PREOPERATIVE OVERALL NECK DISABILITY INDEX SCORE FOR FEMALE PATIENTS <36 YEARS OF AGE (P = 0.03). IN AN INTERGENDER, BODY MASS INDEX-SPECIFIC COMPARISON, WE ALSO FOUND A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN NECK DISABILITY INDEX PREOPERATIVE SCORE WITH NORMAL-WEIGHT MALE PATIENTS FARING WORSE THAN OVERWEIGHT MALE PATIENTS (P = 0.05). AT A RADIOLOGICAL LEVEL, WE FOUND A TENDENCY TOWARD A HIGHER HETEROTOPIC OSSIFICATION INCIDENCE IN MALE PATIENTS (62% IN MEN, 17% IN WOMEN, P = 0.06). THE FEMALE CERVICAL SPINE HAS DISTINCTIVE FEATURES, INCLUDING BONE STRUCTURE, MUSCULAR ACTION, SOFT TISSUE RESPONSE, AND GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC RESPONSE TO OSTEOARTHRITIS. CONCLUSIONS: THE INCIDENCE OF MOBILITY FAILURE IN OUR SERIES OF SINGLE-LEVEL CDA WAS LOWER IN FEMALE PATIENTS. SEVERAL GENDER-SPECIFIC FACTORS BOTH IN STATIC AND IN DYNAMIC FEATURES MAY PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN SPINAL PATHOLOGY AND CDA LONG-TERM RADIOLOGICAL OUTCOME. 2022 13 6742 44 WHITHER THE ETIOPATHOGENESIS (AND SCOLIOGENY) OF ADOLESCENT IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS? ALTHOUGH CONSIDERABLE PROGRESS HAD BEEN MADE IN THE PAST TWO DECADES IN UNDERSTANDING THE ETIOPATHOGENESIS OF ADOLESCENT IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS (AIS), IT STILL LACKS AN AGREED THEORY OF ETIOPATHOGENESIS. ONE PROBLEM MAY BE THAT AIS RESULTS NOT FROM ONE CAUSE, BUT SEVERAL THAT INTERACT WITH VARIOUS GENETIC PREDISPOSING FACTORS. THERE IS A VIEW THERE ARE TWO OTHER PATHOGENIC PROCESSES FOR IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS NAMELY, INITIATING (OR INDUCING), AND THOSE THAT CAUSE CURVE PROGRESSION. TWIN STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS OF FAMILY AGGREGATION HAVE REVEALED SIGNIFICANT GENETIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS, THAT PLACE AIS AMONG OTHER COMMON DISEASE OR COMPLEX TRAITS WITH A HIGH HERITABILITY INTERPRETED BY THE GENETIC VARIANT HYPOTHESIS OF DISEASE. WE SUMMARIZE ETIOPATHOGENETIC KNOWLEDGE OF AIS AS THEORIES OF PATHOGENESIS INCLUDING RECENT MULTIPLE CONCEPTS, AND BLOOD TESTS FOR AIS BASED ON PREDICTIVE BIOMARKERS AND GENETIC VARIANTS THAT SIGNIFY DISEASE RISK. THERE IS INCREASING EVIDENCE FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF AN UNDERLYING NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER FOR AIS, RESEARCH WHICH HOLDS PROMISE. LIKE BRAIN RESEARCH, MOST AIS WORKERS FOCUS ON THEIR OWN CORNER AND THERE IS A NEED FOR GREATER INTEGRATION OF RESEARCH EFFORT. EPIGENETICS, A RELATIVELY RECENT FIELD, EVALUATES FACTORS CONCERNED WITH GENE EXPRESSION IN RELATION TO ENVIRONMENT, DISEASE, NORMAL DEVELOPMENT AND AGING, WITH A COMPLEX REGULATION ACROSS THE GENOME DURING THE FIRST DECADE OF LIFE. RESEARCH ON THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, EPIGENETICS AND CHRONIC NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES (NCDS) INCLUDING ADIPOSITY, AFTER A SLOW START, HAS EXPLODED IN THE LAST DECADE. NOT SO FOR AIS RESEARCH AND THE ENVIRONMENT WHERE, EXCEPT FOR MONOZYGOTIC TWIN STUDIES, THERE ARE ONLY SPORADIC REPORTS TO SUGGEST THAT ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ARE AT WORK IN ETIOLOGY. HERE, WE EXAMINE EPIGENETIC CONCEPTS AS THEY MAY RELATE TO HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, NORMAL LIFE HISTORY PHASES AND AIS PATHOGENESIS. ALTHOUGH AIS IS NOT REGARDED AS AN NCD, LIKE THEM, IT IS ASSOCIATED WITH WHOLE ORGANISM METABOLIC PHENOMENA, INCLUDING LOWER BODY MASS INDEX, LOWER CIRCULATING LEPTIN LEVELS AND OTHER SYSTEMIC DISORDERS. SOME EPIGENETIC RESEARCH APPLIED TO SILVER-RUSSELL SYNDROME AND ADIPOSITY IS EXAMINED, FROM WHICH SUGGESTIONS ARE MADE FOR CONSIDERATION OF AIS EPIGENETIC RESEARCH, CROSS-SECTIONAL AND LONGITUDINAL. THE WORD SCOLIOGENY IS SUGGESTED TO INCLUDE ETIOLOGY, PATHOGENESIS AND PATHOMECHANISM. 2012 14 351 35 ALTERED ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION-RELATED MIRS IN PLASMA FROM ME/CFS PATIENTS. MYALGIC ENCEPHALOMYELITIS/CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME (ME/CFS) IS A COMPLEX DISEASE CHARACTERIZED BY UNEXPLAINED DEBILITATING FATIGUE. ALTHOUGH THE ETIOLOGY IS UNKNOWN, EVIDENCE SUPPORTS IMMUNOLOGICAL ABNORMALITIES, SUCH AS PERSISTENT INFLAMMATION AND IMMUNE-CELL ACTIVATION, IN A SUBSET OF PATIENTS. SINCE THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN INFLAMMATION AND VASCULAR ALTERATIONS IS WELL-ESTABLISHED IN OTHER DISEASES, ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION HAS EMERGED AS ANOTHER PLAYER IN ME/CFS PATHOGENESIS. ENDOTHELIAL NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE (ENOS) GENERATES NITRIC OXIDE (NO) THAT MAINTAINS ENDOTHELIAL HOMEOSTASIS. ENOS IS ACTIVATED BY SILENT INFORMATION REGULATOR 1 (SIRT1), AN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PROTEIN. DESPITE ITS RELEVANCE, NO STUDY HAS ADDRESSED THE SIRT1/ENOS AXIS IN ME/CFS. THE INTEREST IN CIRCULATING MICRORNAS (MIRS) AS POTENTIAL BIOMARKERS IN ME/CFS HAS INCREASED IN RECENT YEARS. ACCORDINGLY, WE ANALYZE A SET OF MIRS REPORTED TO MODULATE THE SIRT1/ENOS AXIS USING PLASMA FROM ME/CFS PATIENTS. OUR RESULTS SHOW THAT MIR-21, MIR-34A, MIR-92A, MIR-126, AND MIR-200C ARE JOINTLY INCREASED IN ME/CFS PATIENTS COMPARED TO HEALTHY CONTROLS. A SIMILAR FINDING WAS OBTAINED WHEN ANALYZING PUBLIC MIR DATA ON PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS. BIOINFORMATICS ANALYSIS SHOWS THAT ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION-RELATED SIGNALING PATHWAYS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THESE MIRS, INCLUDING OXIDATIVE STRESS AND OXYGEN REGULATION. INTERESTINGLY, HISTONE DEACETYLASE 1, A PROTEIN RESPONSIBLE FOR EPIGENETIC REGULATIONS, REPRESENTED THE MOST RELEVANT NODE WITHIN THE NETWORK. IN CONCLUSION, OUR STUDY PROVIDES A BASIS TO FIND ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION-RELATED BIOMARKERS AND EXPLORE NOVEL TARGETS IN ME/CFS. 2021 15 6743 46 WHITHER THE ETIOPATHOGENESIS (AND SCOLIOGENY) OF ADOLESCENT IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS? INCORPORATING PRESENTATIONS ON SCOLIOGENY AT THE 2012 IRSSD AND SRS MEETINGS. THIS PAPER AIMS TO INTEGRATE INTO CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF AIS CAUSATION, ETIOPATHOGENETIC INFORMATION PRESENTED AT TWO MEETINGS DURING 2012 NAMELY, THE INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH SOCIETY OF SPINAL DEFORMITIES (IRSSD) AND THE SCOLIOSIS RESEARCH SOCIETY (SRS). THE ULTIMATE HOPE IS TO PREVENT THE OCCURRENCE OR PROGRESSION OF THE SPINAL DEFORMITY OF AIS WITH NON-INVASIVE TREATMENT, POSSIBLY MEDICAL. THIS MIGHT BE ATTAINED BY PERSONALISED POLYMECHANISTIC PREVENTIVE THERAPY TARGETING THE APPROPRIATE ETIOLOGY AND/OR ETIOPATHOGENETIC PATHWAYS, TO AVOID FUSION AND MAINTAIN SPINAL MOBILITY. ALTHOUGH CONSIDERABLE PROGRESS HAD BEEN MADE IN THE PAST TWO DECADES IN UNDERSTANDING THE ETIOPATHOGENESIS OF ADOLESCENT IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS (AIS), IT STILL LACKS AN AGREED THEORY OF ETIOPATHOGENESIS. ONE PROBLEM MAY BE THAT AIS RESULTS NOT FROM ONE CAUSE, BUT SEVERAL THAT INTERACT WITH VARIOUS GENETIC PREDISPOSING FACTORS. THERE IS A VIEW THERE ARE TWO OTHER PATHOGENIC PROCESSES FOR IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS NAMELY, INITIATING (OR INDUCING), AND THOSE THAT CAUSE CURVE PROGRESSION. TWIN STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS OF FAMILY AGGREGATION HAVE REVEALED SIGNIFICANT GENETIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS, THAT PLACE AIS AMONG OTHER COMMON DISEASE OR COMPLEX TRAITS WITH A HIGH HERITABILITY INTERPRETED BY THE GENETIC VARIANT HYPOTHESIS OF DISEASE. WE SUMMARIZE ETIOPATHOGENETIC KNOWLEDGE OF AIS AS THEORIES OF PATHOGENESIS INCLUDING RECENT MULTIPLE CONCEPTS, AND BLOOD TESTS FOR AIS BASED ON PREDICTIVE BIOMARKERS AND GENETIC VARIANTS THAT SIGNIFY DISEASE RISK. THERE IS INCREASING EVIDENCE FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF AN UNDERLYING NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER FOR AIS, RESEARCH WHICH HOLDS PROMISE. LIKE BRAIN RESEARCH, MOST AIS WORKERS FOCUS ON THEIR OWN CORNER AND THERE IS A NEED FOR GREATER INTEGRATION OF RESEARCH EFFORT. EPIGENETICS, A RELATIVELY RECENT FIELD, EVALUATES FACTORS CONCERNED WITH GENE EXPRESSION IN RELATION TO ENVIRONMENT, DISEASE, NORMAL DEVELOPMENT AND AGING, WITH A COMPLEX REGULATION ACROSS THE GENOME DURING THE FIRST DECADE OF LIFE. RESEARCH ON THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, EPIGENETICS AND CHRONIC NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES (NCDS) INCLUDING ADIPOSITY, AFTER A SLOW START, HAS EXPLODED IN THE LAST DECADE. NOT SO FOR AIS RESEARCH AND THE ENVIRONMENT WHERE, EXCEPT FOR MONOZYGOTIC TWIN STUDIES, THERE ARE ONLY SPORADIC REPORTS TO SUGGEST THAT ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ARE AT WORK IN ETIOLOGY. HERE, WE EXAMINE EPIGENETIC CONCEPTS AS THEY MAY RELATE TO HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, NORMAL LIFE HISTORY PHASES AND AIS PATHOGENESIS. ALTHOUGH AIS IS NOT REGARDED AS AN NCD, LIKE THEM, IT IS ASSOCIATED WITH WHOLE ORGANISM METABOLIC PHENOMENA, INCLUDING LOWER BODY MASS INDEX, LOWER CIRCULATING LEPTIN LEVELS AND OTHER SYSTEMIC DISORDERS. SOME EPIGENETIC RESEARCH APPLIED TO SILVER-RUSSELL SYNDROME AND ADIPOSITY IS EXAMINED, FROM WHICH SUGGESTIONS ARE MADE FOR CONSIDERATION OF AIS EPIGENETIC RESEARCH, CROSS-SECTIONAL AND LONGITUDINAL. THE WORD SCOLIOGENY IS SUGGESTED TO INCLUDE ETIOLOGY, PATHOGENESIS AND PATHOMECHANISM. 2013 16 718 36 CALCIUM-DEPENDENT INTRACELLULAR SIGNAL PATHWAYS IN PRIMARY CULTURED ADIPOCYTES AND ANK3 GENE VARIATION IN PATIENTS WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER AND HEALTHY CONTROLS. BIPOLAR DISORDER (BD) IS A CHRONIC PSYCHIATRIC DISORDER OF PUBLIC HEALTH IMPORTANCE AFFECTING >1% OF THE SWEDISH POPULATION. DESPITE PROGRESS, PATIENTS STILL SUFFER FROM CHRONIC MOOD SWITCHES WITH POTENTIAL SEVERE CONSEQUENCES. THUS, EARLY DETECTION, DIAGNOSIS AND INITIATION OF CORRECT TREATMENT ARE CRITICAL. CULTURED ADIPOCYTES FROM 35 PATIENTS WITH BD AND 38 HEALTHY CONTROLS WERE ANALYSED USING SIGNAL PATHWAY REPORTER ASSAYS, THAT IS, PROTEIN KINASE C (PKC), PROTEIN KINASE A (PKA), MITOGEN-ACTIVATED PROTEIN KINASES (EXTRACELLULAR SIGNAL-REGULATED KINASE (ERK) AND C-JUN N-TERMINAL KINASE (JNK)), MYC, WNT AND P53. THE LEVELS OF ACTIVATED TARGET TRANSCRIPTIONAL FACTORS WERE MEASURED IN ADIPOCYTES BEFORE AND AFTER STIMULATION WITH LITHIUM AND ESCITALOPRAM. VARIATIONS WERE ANALYSED IN THE LOCI OF 25 DIFFERENT SINGLE-NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISMS (SNPS). ACTIVATION OF INTRACELLULAR SIGNALS IN SEVERAL PATHWAYS ANALYSED WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN PATIENTS THAN IN HEALTHY CONTROLS UPON DRUG STIMULATION, ESPECIALLY WITH ESCITALOPRAM STIMULATION OF PKC, JNK AND MYC, AS WELL AS LITHIUM-STIMULATED PKC, WHEREAS NO MEANINGFUL DIFFERENCE WAS OBSERVED BEFORE STIMULATION. UNIVARIATE ANALYSES OF CONTINGENCY TABLES FOR 80 CATEGORICAL SNP RESULTS VERSUS DIAGNOSES SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT LINK WITH THE ANK3 GENE (RS10761482; LIKELIHOOD RATIO CHI(2)=4.63; P=0.031). IN A MULTIVARIATE ORDINAL LOGISTIC FIT FOR DIAGNOSIS, A BACKWARD STEPWISE PROCEDURE SELECTED ANK3 AS THE REMAINING SIGNIFICANT PREDICTOR. COMPARISON OF THE ESCITALOPRAM-STIMULATED PKC ACTIVITY AND THE ANK3 GENOTYPE SHOWED THEM TO ADD THEIR SHARE OF THE DIAGNOSTIC VARIANCE, WITH NO INTERACTION (15% OF VARIANCE EXPLAINED, P<0.002). THE STUDY IS CROSS-SECTIONAL WITH NO LONGITUDINAL FOLLOW-UP. COHORTS ARE RELATIVELY SMALL WITH NO MEDICATION-FREE PATIENTS, AND THERE ARE NO 'ILL PATIENT' CONTROLS. IT TAKES 3 TO 4 WEEKS OF CULTURE TO EXPAND ADIPOCYTES THAT MAY CHANGE EPIGENETIC PROFILES BUT REMOVE THE POSSIBILITY OF MEDICATION EFFECTS. ABNORMALITIES IN THE REACTIVITY OF INTRACELLULAR SIGNAL PATHWAYS TO STIMULATION AND THE ANK3 GENOTYPE MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH PATHOGENESIS OF BD. ALGORITHMS USING BIOLOGICAL PATTERNS SUCH AS PATHWAY REACTIVITY TOGETHER WITH STRUCTURAL GENETIC SNP DATA MAY PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EARLIER DETECTION AND EFFECTIVE TREATMENT OF BD. 2015 17 1140 31 CONCENTRATION OF FOLIC ACID (FA) IN SERUM OF JAPANESE PREGNANT WOMEN. OBJECTIVES EXPOSURE TO INORGANIC ARSENIC (IAS) IS A WORLD-WIDE HEALTH CONCERN. WE REPORTED THAT JAPANESE CHILDREN AND PREGNANT WOMEN ARE EXPOSED TO MODERATE LEVELS OF IAS THROUGH FOOD. REDUCING IAS CONTAMINATION FROM FOODS OF HIGH IAS IS AN IMPORTANT ISSUE UNIQUE IN JAPAN. INTEGRATED IAS IS METHYLATED TO LESS TOXIC ORGANIC FORMS, AND S-ADENOSYL-L-METHYONINE (SAM), A COMMON METHYL-DONOR OF DNA AND HISTONES, IS UTILIZED IN THIS PROCESS. CHRONIC CONSUMPTION OF SAM BY IAS METABOLISM DUE TO EXPOSURE TO IAS MIGHT ALTER THE EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF GENOME. THE SAM BIOSYNTHESIS PATHWAY IS DEPENDENT ON FOLATE CYCLE, AND IT IS POSSIBLE THAT INGESTION OF SUFFICIENT FOLIC ACID (FA) IS PROTECTIVE TO IAS INDUCED TOXICITY. METHODS IN THE COURSE OF OUR CROSS-SECTIONAL BODY BURDEN ANALYSES OF PB AND IAS IN JAPANESE CHILDREN AND PREGNANT WOMEN, TERMED "PBAS STUDY", FA CONCENTRATION IN SERUM OF 104 PREGNANT WOMEN WAS MEASURED. RESULTS MEAN (+/-SEM) OF SERUM FA CONCENTRATION WAS 15.8 +/- 1.3 (NG/ML). THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF PEOPLE SHOWING VERY HIGH FA (>30 NG/ ML), AND LARGE FRACTION OF THEM WERE TAKING SUPPLEMENTS DAILY. CONCLUSIONS THESE RESULTS SUGGESTED THAT LEVEL OF FA INGESTION OF JAPANESE PREGNANT WOMEN IS HIGH FOR SUPPORTING NORMAL FETAL DEVELOPMENT. 2020 18 5443 36 REPEATED METHAMPHETAMINE AND MODAFINIL INDUCE DIFFERENTIAL COGNITIVE EFFECTS AND SPECIFIC HISTONE ACETYLATION AND DNA METHYLATION PROFILES IN THE MOUSE MEDIAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX. METHAMPHETAMINE (METH) AND MODAFINIL ARE PSYCHOSTIMULANTS WITH DIFFERENT LONG-TERM COGNITIVE PROFILES: METH IS ADDICTIVE AND LEADS TO COGNITIVE DECLINE, WHEREAS MODAFINIL HAS LITTLE ABUSE LIABILITY AND IS A COGNITIVE ENHANCER. INCREASING EVIDENCE IMPLICATES EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS OF GENE REGULATION BEHIND THE LASTING CHANGES THAT DRUGS OF ABUSE AND OTHER PSYCHOTROPIC COMPOUNDS INDUCE IN THE BRAIN, LIKE THE CONTROL OF GENE EXPRESSION BY HISTONES 3 AND 4 TAILS ACETYLATION (H3AC AND H4AC) AND DNA CYTOSINE METHYLATION (5-MC). MICE WERE TREATED WITH A SEVEN-DAY REPEATED METH, MODAFINIL OR VEHICLE PROTOCOL AND EVALUATED IN THE NOVEL OBJECT RECOGNITION (NOR) TEST OR SACRIFICED 4DAYS AFTER LAST INJECTION FOR MOLECULAR ASSAYS. WE EVALUATED TOTAL H3AC, H4AC AND 5-MC LEVELS IN THE MEDIAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX (MPFC), H3AC AND H4AC PROMOTOR ENRICHMENT (CHIP) AND MRNA EXPRESSION (RT-PCR) OF NEUROTRANSMITTER SYSTEMS INVOLVED IN AROUSAL, WAKEFULNESS AND COGNITIVE CONTROL, LIKE DOPAMINERGIC (DRD1 AND DRD2), ALPHA-ADRENERGIC (ADRA1A AND ADRA1B), OREXINERGIC (HCRTR1 AND HCRTR2), HISTAMINERGIC (HRH1 AND HRH3) AND GLUTAMATERGIC (AMPA GRIA1 AND NMDA GRIN1) RECEPTORS. REPEATED METH AND MODAFINIL TREATMENT ELICITED DIFFERENT COGNITIVE OUTCOMES IN THE NOR TEST, WHERE MODAFINIL-TREATED MICE PERFORMED AS CONTROLS AND METH-TREATED MICE SHOWED IMPAIRED RECOGNITION MEMORY. METH-TREATED MICE ALSO SHOWED I) DECREASED LEVELS OF TOTAL H3AC AND H4AC, AND INCREASED LEVELS OF 5-MC, II) DECREASED H3AC ENRICHMENT AT PROMOTERS OF DRD2, HCRTR1/2, HRH1 AND GRIN1, AND INCREASED H4AC ENRICHMENT AT DRD1, HRH1 AND GRIN1, III) INCREASED MRNA OF DRD1A, GRIN1 AND GRIA1. MODAFINIL-TREATED MICE SHARED NONE OF THESE EFFECTS AND SHOWED INCREASED H3AC ENRICHMENT AND MRNA EXPRESSION AT ADRA1B. MODAFINIL AND METH SHOWED SIMILAR EFFECTS LINKED TO DECREASED H3AC IN HRH3, INCREASED H4AC IN HCRTR1, AND DECREASED MRNA EXPRESSION OF HCRTR2. THE SPECIFIC METH-INDUCED EPIGENETIC AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL CHANGES DESCRIBED HERE MAY BE RELATED TO THE LONG-TERM COGNITIVE DECLINE EFFECTS OF THE DRUG AND ITS DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS ON MPFC FUNCTION. THE LACK OF SIMILAR EPIGENETIC EFFECTS OF CHRONIC MODAFINIL ADMINISTRATION SUPPORTS THIS NOTION. 2018 19 2734 40 EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DNA METHYLATION AGE MEASURES AND PSYCHONEUROLOGICAL SYMPTOMS IN WOMEN WITH EARLY-STAGE BREAST CANCER. PURPOSE: THE EPIGENETIC CLOCK HAS BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED AS AN INDICATOR FOR MOLECULAR AGING, BUT FEW STUDIES HAVE EXAMINED POSSIBLE ASSOCIATIONS OF DNA METHYLATION (DNAM) AGE OR AGE ACCELERATION (AA) WITH SYMPTOM BURDEN IN INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE TREATED FOR CANCER. THIS STUDY EXPLORED THE ASSOCIATION OF DNAM AGE OR AA WITH PSYCHONEUROLOGICAL (PN) SYMPTOMS, INCLUDING COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT, FATIGUE, SLEEP DISTURBANCES, PAIN, AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS OVER A 2-YEAR PERIOD. METHODS: WE MEASURED PN SYMPTOMS USING RELIABLE INSTRUMENTS AND DNAM LEVELS BY INFINIUM HUMANMETHYLATION450K BEADCHIP (N = 72). DNAM AGE WAS CALCULATED BY THE HORVATH, GRIM, AND HANNUM-BASED INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC AGE ESTIMATIONS. AA WAS DEFINED BY THE RESIDUAL REGRESSING ESTIMATED EPIGENETIC AGE ON CHRONOLOGICAL AGE. MIXED REGRESSION MODELS WERE FITTED FOR AA AND CHANGES IN AA TO STUDY THE ASSOCIATION OVER TIME. SEPARATE LINEAR REGRESSION MODELS AND A MIXED-EFFECTS MODEL WERE FITTED FOR AA AT EACH TIME POINT. RESULTS: HORVATH-AA, GRIM-AA, AND EXTRINSIC EPIGENETIC AA WERE SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGED OVER TIME, WHILE INTRINSIC EPIGENETIC AA DID NOT EXHIBIT ANY TEMPORAL CHANGES. INCREASED AA WAS ASSOCIATED WITH GREATER ANXIETY AND FATIGUE, AS WELL AS WORSE COGNITIVE MEMORY, ADJUSTING FOR RACE, BMI, INCOME, CHEMOTHERAPY, RADIATION THERAPY, AND CHRONOLOGICAL AGE. INCREASED DNAM AGE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH GREATER ANXIETY OVER 2 YEARS. CONCLUSION: OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST DNAM AGE AND AA MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH PN SYMPTOMS OVER THE COURSE OF CANCER TREATMENT AND SURVIVORSHIP. SOME PN SYMPTOMS MAY BE AMENABLE TO PREVENTIVE INTERVENTIONS TARGETED TO EPIGENETIC CLOCKS THAT INFLUENCE AGING-ASSOCIATED PROCESSES. 2022 20 2149 33 EPIGENETIC MARKERS TO PREDICT CONVERSION FROM GESTATIONAL DIABETES TO TYPE 2 DIABETES. CONTEXT: LIFESTYLE FACTORS MEDIATE EPIGENETIC CHANGES THAT CAN CAUSE CHRONIC DISEASES. ALTHOUGH ANIMAL AND LABORATORY STUDIES LINK EPIGENETIC CHANGES TO DIABETES, EPIGENETIC INFORMATION IN WOMEN WITH GESTATIONAL DIABETES (GDM) AND TYPE 2 DIABETES IS LACKING. OBJECTIVE: THIS STUDY SOUGHT TO MEASURE EPIGENETIC MARKERS ACROSS PREGNANCY AND EARLY POSTPARTUM AND IDENTIFY MARKERS THAT COULD BE USED AS PREDICTORS FOR CONVERSION FROM GDM TO TYPE 2 DIABETES. DESIGN: GLOBAL HISTONE H3 DIMETHYLATION WAS MEASURED IN WHITE BLOOD CELLS AT THREE TIME POINTS: 30 WK GESTATION, 8-10 WK POSTPARTUM, AND 20 WK POSTPARTUM, FROM FOUR GROUPS OF WOMEN WITH AND WITHOUT DIABETES. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A TOTAL OF 39 PARTICIPANTS (SIX TO NINE IN EACH GROUP) WERE RECRUITED INCLUDING: NONDIABETIC WOMEN; WOMEN WITH GDM WHO DEVELOPED POSTPARTUM TYPE 2 DIABETES; WOMEN WITH GDM WITHOUT POSTPARTUM TYPE 2 DIABETES; AND WOMEN WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: PERCENTAGES OF DIMETHYLATION OF H3 HISTONES RELATIVE TO TOTAL H3 HISTONE METHYLATION WERE COMPARED BETWEEN DIABETIC/NONDIABETIC GROUPS USING APPROPRIATE COMPARATIVE STATISTICS. RESULTS: H3K27 DIMETHYLATION WAS 50-60% LOWER AT 8-10 AND 20 WK POSTPARTUM IN WOMEN WITH GDM WHO DEVELOPED TYPE 2 DIABETES, COMPARED WITH NONDIABETIC WOMEN. H3K4 DIMETHYLATION WAS 75% LOWER AT 8-10 WK POSTPARTUM IN WOMEN WITH GDM WHO SUBSEQUENTLY DEVELOPED TYPE 2 DIABETES COMPARED WITH WOMEN WHO HAD GDM WHO DID NOT. CONCLUSIONS: THE PERCENTAGE OF DIMETHYLATION OF HISTONES H3K27 AND H3K4 VARIED WITH DIABETIC STATE AND HAS THE POTENTIAL AS A PREDICTIVE TOOL TO IDENTIFY WOMEN WHO WILL CONVERT FROM GDM TO TYPE 2 DIABETES. 2016