1 517 124 ASSOCIATION STUDY OF FOXO3A SINGLE-NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISM AND BRONCHIAL ASTHMA IN EGYPTIAN CHILDREN. ASTHMA IS THE MOST COMMON CHRONIC ILLNESS IN CHILDREN AND IS A LEADING CAUSE OF CHILDHOOD HOSPITALIZATION AND SCHOOL ABSENTEEISM. ASTHMA PRESENTS WITH DIFFERENT PHENOTYPES DEPENDING ON AGE, GENDER, GENETIC BACKGROUND, ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES AND EPIGENETIC FACTORS. FORKHEAD BOX O3 (FOXO3) IS A TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR INVOLVED IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF A NUMBER OF INFLAMMATORY AND RESPIRATORY DISEASES. THE STUDY AIMS TO INVESTIGATE THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE SNP RS13217795 IN FOXO3 GENE AND PEDIATRIC ONSET ASTHMA IN THE EGYPTIAN POPULATION. NINETY ASTHMATICS AND 160 HEALTHY CONTROLS WERE SUBJECTED TO GENOTYPING OF FOXO3 SNP (RS13217795) USING THE PCR-RFLP METHOD. THE PROPORTION OF HOMOZYGOUS (CC) AND HETEROZYGOUS (CT) GENOTYPES WAS LOWER IN THE ASTHMATIC GROUP COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP BUT STATISTICALLY INSIGNIFICANT; P > 0.05. ON THE OTHER HAND THE PROPORTION OF THE MUTANT HOMOZYGOUS (TT) GENOTYPE IN ASTHMATIC GROUP WAS HIGHER; 30 (33.3%) THAN THE CONTROL GROUP; 28(17.5%), THE DIFFERENCE WAS SIGNIFICANT IN RECESSIVE MODEL OF DISEASE PENETRANCE WITH ODDS RATIO OR (95% CI) OF 2.4(1 - 5.49) AND P=0.039. THIS ASSOCIATION WAS MORE PRONOUNCED IN MALE GENDER; OR AND 95% CI OF 5.3 (1.4- 19.3) AND P=0.01. IN CONCLUSIONS, EGYPTIAN CHILDREN CARRYING THE MUTANT (TT) GENOTYPE WERE AT HIGHER RISK TO DEVELOP ASTHMA WITH A HIGHER RISK IN MALE GENDER. 2020 2 5700 36 SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISM IN DNMT3B PROMOTER AND THE RISK FOR IDIOPATHIC THROMBOCYTOPENIC PURPURA IN CHINESE POPULATION. OBJECTIVE: EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION, INCLUDING DNA METHYLATION AND HISTONE MODIFICATIONS, MIGHT CONTRIBUTE TO AUTOIMMUNITY. DNA METHYLATION IS MEDIATED BY A FAMILY OF DNA METHYLTRANSFERASES. POLYMORPHISMS OF THE DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE 3B (DNMT3B) GENE MAY INFLUENCE DNMT3B ACTIVITY ON DNA METHYLATION, THEREBY MODULATING THE SUSCEPTIBILITY TO SOME DISEASES. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISM (SNP) IN PROMOTER OF THE DNMT3B GENE AND THE RISK FOR DEVELOPMENT OF IDIOPATHIC THROMBOCYTOPENIC PURPURA (ITP). METHODS: IN THIS HOSPITAL-BASED CASE-CONTROL STUDY, THE DNMT3B SNP WAS GENOTYPED IN 201 PATIENTS WITH ITP AND 136 HEALTHY CONTROLS BY POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION-RESTRICTION FRAGMENT LENGTH POLYMORPHISM. RESULTS: THE C/C GENOTYPE WAS NOT DETECTED IN BOTH THE PATIENTS WITH ITP AND THE CONTROLS. IN THE CONTROLS, THE FREQUENCIES OF T/T AND C/T GENOTYPES AND T AND C ALLELES WERE 97.8%, 2.2%, 98.9%, AND 1.1%, RESPECTIVELY. THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN GENOTYPE AND ALLELE DISTRIBUTION BETWEEN THE PATIENTS WITH ITP AND THE CONTROLS (P = 0.745 AND 0.747, RESPECTIVELY). NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WAS OBSERVED IN GENOTYPE AND ALLELE DISTRIBUTION BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS WHEN STRATIFIED BY THE AGE. THE SIMILAR RESULTS WERE SHOWN AMONG THE FOUR GROUPS OF PATIENTS WITH ITP: ACUTE CHILDHOOD, CHRONIC CHILDHOOD, ACUTE ADULT, AND CHRONIC ADULT. CONCLUSION: THIS POLYMORPHISM WAS DISTRIBUTED SIMILARLY BETWEEN THE PATIENTS WITH ITP AND THE CONTROLS. IT DEMONSTRATED THAT IT MAY NOT BE USED AS A STRATIFICATION MARKER TO PREDICT THE SUSCEPTIBILITY TO ITP, AT LEAST IN THE POPULATION OF NORTH CHINA. 2008 3 325 37 ALLELE-SPECIFIC DNA METHYLATION LEVEL OF FKBP5 IS ASSOCIATED WITH POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER. BACKGROUND: FK506-BINDING PROTEIN 5 (FKBP5) BINDS TO GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTORS AND MODULATES GLUCOCORTICOID SENSITIVITY. THE FKBP5 GENE HAS BEEN IMPLICATED IN THE DYSREGULATION OF HUMAN STRESS RESPONSES, CONTRIBUTING TO THE RISK AND TREATMENT RESPONSE OF STRESS-RELATED DISORDERS. THE PRESENT STUDY EXAMINED WHETHER EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN FKBP5 ARE ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) STATUS IN THE CONTEXT OF FKBP5 GENETIC VARIATION (RS1360780 POLYMORPHISM) AMONG MALE VETERANS EXPOSED TO COMBAT TRAUMA. METHODS: KOREAN MALE VETERANS WHO SERVED ON ACTIVE DUTY DURING THE VIETNAM WAR WERE CATEGORIZED INTO 2 GROUPS: WITH PTSD (N = 123) AND WITHOUT PTSD (N = 116). THE GENOTYPE OF FKBP5 RS1360780 AND DNA METHYLATION LEVELS OF TWO CPG SITES AT THE FKBP5 INTRON 7 REGION WERE ASSESSED IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD. ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE WAS PERFORMED TO EXAMINE MAIN AND INTERACTION EFFECTS OF PTSD STATUS AND FKBP5 GENOTYPE ON FKBP5 DNA METHYLATION LEVEL, WITH AGE, TRAUMA LEVELS, AND ALCOHOL USE AS COVARIATES. RESULTS: A SIGNIFICANT MAIN EFFECT OF FKBP5 RS1360780 AND PTSD AND AN INTERACTION EFFECT BETWEEN GENOTYPE AND PTSD STATUS WERE FOUND ON MEAN FKBP5 DNA METHYLATION LEVEL. THE T ALLELE OF RS1360780 WAS ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER FKBP5 METHYLATION LEVEL. IN ADDITION, THE PTSD GROUP SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER METHYLATION THAN DID THE NON-PTSD GROUP AMONG VETERANS CARRYING THE RISK T ALLELE (N = 96), WHILE NO GROUP DIFFERENCE WAS OBSERVED ON METHYLATION LEVELS AMONG VETERANS WITH THE CC GENOTYPE (N = 143). AMONG VETERANS CARRYING THE T ALLELE, FKBP5 METHYLATION LEVELS WERE POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH THE SEVERITY OF PTSD SYMPTOMS. CONCLUSIONS: THE PRESENT STUDY DEMONSTRATED DIFFERENT FKBP5 METHYLATION LEVELS IN PTSD DEPENDING ON FKBP5 GENETIC VARIATION AMONG VETERANS EXPOSED TO COMBAT TRAUMA. THE PRESENT FINDING SUGGESTS THAT THE GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC MODULATION OF FKBP5 IS INVOLVED IN THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF PTSD. FURTHER LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH INVOLVING PEOPLE EXPOSED TO TRAUMA IS REQUIRED TO UNDERSTAND CAUSAL RELATIONSHIPS OF FKBP5 IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND RECOVERY OF PTSD. 2019 4 1189 34 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 5 5118 36 POSSIBLE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN GERMLINE METHYLENETETRAHYDROFOLATE REDUCTASE GENE POLYMORPHISMS AND PSORIASIS RISK IN A TURKISH POPULATION. BACKGROUND: PSORIASIS IS A COMMON CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY SKIN DISEASE CAUSED BY GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC FACTORS. THERE ARE CONFLICTING RESULTS IN THE LITERATURE ABOUT THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PSORIASIS AND THE METHYLENETETRAHYDROFOLATE REDUCTASE GENE (MTHFR), RANGING FROM STRONG LINKAGE TO NO ASSOCIATION. AIM: TO INVESTIGATE THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE GERMLINE MTHFR POLYMORPHISMS C677T AND A1298C WITH PSORIASIS RISK IN A TURKISH POPULATION. METHODS: THE STUDY ENROLLED 84 PATIENTS WITH PSORIASIS AND 212 HEALTHY CONTROLS (HCS) WITHOUT ANY HISTORY OF PSORIASIS. DNA WAS EXTRACTED FROM PERIPHERAL BLOOD SAMPLES OF PATIENTS AND HCS, AND REAL-TIME PCR WAS USED FOR GENOTYPING. RESULTS WERE COMPARED BY PEARSON CHI(2) TEST AND MULTIPLE LOGISTIC REGRESSION MODELS. RESULTS: THE FREQUENCY OF BOTH THE MTHFR 677TT AND A1298C (HOMOZYGOUS) GENOTYPES WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT FROM HCS. POINT MUTATIONS WERE DETECTED IN ALL PATIENTS WITH EARLY-ONSET PSORIASIS (BEFORE THE AGE OF 20 YEARS). THE T ALLELE OF MTHFR 677 AND THE C ALLELE OF MTHFR 1298 INCREASED PSORIASIS RISK BY 12.4- AND 17.0-FOLD, RESPECTIVELY, IN PATIENTS COMPARED WITH HCS. CONCLUSION: A POSSIBLE ASSOCIATION WAS DETECTED BETWEENGERMLINE MTHFR 677 C>T AND 1298 A>C GENOTYPES AND PSORIASIS RISK IN A TURKISH POPULATION. THESE RESULTS NEED TO BE CONFIRMED IN FURTHER STUDIES WITH LARGER SAMPLE SIZES. 2017 6 67 33 A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF THE ASSOCIATIONS OF BDNF GENOTYPE AND METHYLATION WITH POSTSTROKE ANXIETY. BACKGROUND: ALTHOUGH THE PRECISE ETIOLOGY OF POSTSTROKE ANXIETY (PSA) HAS YET TO BE FULLY ELUCIDATED, IT IS KNOWN THAT BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) IS IMPORTANT FOR NEURAL PLASTICITY AND LONG-TERM POTENTIATION, ASSOCIATED WITH THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF ANXIETY. THE EXPRESSION OF BDNF IS REGULATED BY EPIGENETIC AND GENETIC PROFILES. THUS, WE INVESTIGATED THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN BDNF METHYLATION STATUS AND PSA AT 2 WEEKS AND 1 YEAR AFTER STROKE WHILE ACCOUNTING FOR INTERACTIONS WITH THE BDNF VAL66MET POLYMORPHISM. METHODS: THE BASELINE SAMPLE COMPRISED 286 PATIENTS WHO WERE ASSESSED AT 2 WEEKS AFTER STROKE; OF THESE PATIENTS, 222 (78%) WERE FOLLOWED UP WITH AT 1 YEAR AFTER STROKE. THE PRESENCE OF PSA WAS DETERMINED USING THE ANXIETY SUBSCALE OF THE HOSPITAL ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SCALE (HADS), AND THE EFFECTS OF BDNF METHYLATION STATUS AND POLYMORPHISMS ON PSA STATUS WERE ASSESSED WITH MULTIVARIATE LOGISTIC REGRESSION MODELS. RESULTS: THE PREVALENCE OF PSA WAS SLIGHTLY LOWER (27 [9.4%]) AT BASELINE, AND 35 (15.8%) PATIENTS WERE IDENTIFIED AS HAVING PSA AT THE 1-YEAR FOLLOW-UP. STROKE PATIENTS WITH A HIGHER AVERAGE METHYLATION STATUS WERE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE PSA AT 1 YEAR. THE BDNF VAL66MET POLYMORPHISM WAS NOT INDEPENDENTLY ASSOCIATED WITH PSA DURING EITHER THE ACUTE OR CHRONIC PHASE AFTER STROKE, BUT THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INTERACTIVE EFFECT BETWEEN BDNF METHYLATION AND GENOTYPE ON PSA AT 2 WEEKS. CONCLUSIONS: IN THIS STUDY, BDNF METHYLATION IN COMBINATION WITH THE MET/MET BDNF POLYMORPHISM (VAL66MET POLYMORPHISM) WAS ASSOCIATED WITH PSA. THESE FINDINGS MAY HELP IDENTIFY PATIENTS AT HIGHER RISK FOR PSA. 2019 7 6250 39 THE METHYLENETETRAHYDROFOLATE REDUCTASE 677C>T GENE POLYMORPHISM IS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC PLAQUE PSORIASIS. BACKGROUND: METHYLENETETRAHYDROFOLATE REDUCTASE (MTHFR) IS INVOLVED IN THE FORMATION OF METHYL DONORS, WHICH CONTRIBUTE TO DNA METHYLATION. DNA METHYLATION IS AN ESSENTIAL EPIGENETIC FEATURE PLAYING A CRITICAL ROLE IN GENE REGULATION AND CELLULAR DIFFERENTIATION. IN ADDITION, MTHFR ACTIVITY AFFECTS PLASMA HOMOCYSTEINE LEVELS. A FUNCTIONAL POLYMORPHISM IN THE MTHFR GENE (677C>T, RS1801133) LEADING TO REDUCED ENZYME ACTIVITY HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC PLAQUE PSORIASIS IN A CHINESE POPULATION. THIS FINDING, HOWEVER, HAS NOT YET BEEN EITHER CONFIRMED OR REFUTED IN OTHER POPULATIONS. THE PURPOSE OF THE PRESENT STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE A HYPOTHESIZED ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE MTHFR 677C>T POLYMORPHISM AND THE PRESENCE OF CHRONIC PLAQUE PSORIASIS IN A CAUCASIAN POPULATION. METHODS: GENOTYPES FOR THE MTHFR 677C>T POLYMORPHISM WERE DETERMINED IN 310 PATIENTS AND 247 CONTROL SUBJECTS. IN A SUBGROUP OF 33 PATIENTS AND 33 SEX- AND AGE-MATCHED CONTROL SUBJECTS, FASTING PLASMA HOMOCYSTEINE CONCENTRATIONS WERE DETERMINED BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY AND IMMUNOLOGICAL ASSAYS WERE USED FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF FOLATE AND VITAMIN B(12). RESULTS: PREVALENCE OF THE HOMOZYGOUS MTHFR 677TT GENOTYPE DID NOT SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFER BETWEEN PATIENTS AND CONTROLS (15.2% VS 11.7%, P = 0.24). MEAN PLASMA HOMOCYSTEINE CONCENTRATIONS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN PSORIASIS PATIENTS THAN AMONG CONTROL SUBJECTS (13.5 +/- 5.3 MICROMOL/L VS 11.0 +/- 2.2 MICROMOL/L, P = 0.026). NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EITHER MEAN PLASMA FOLATE OR VITAMIN B(12) CONCENTRATIONS WERE OBSERVED BETWEEN BOTH GROUPS. CONCLUSION: OUR DATA SUGGEST THAT THE MTHFR 677C>T GENE POLYMORPHISM IS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC PLAQUE PSORIASIS AMONG CAUCASIANS. 2008 8 5957 24 TELOMERE LENGTH AND EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION IN ADOLESCENTS WITH ANXIETY DISORDERS. EVIDENCE ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENETICS AND MENTAL HEALTH ARE FLOURISHING. HOWEVER, FEW STUDIES ARE EVALUATING EARLY BIOMARKERS THAT MIGHT LINK GENES, ENVIRONMENT, AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY. WE AIMED TO STUDY TELOMERE LENGTH (TL) AND EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION (AA) IN A COHORT OF ADOLESCENTS WITH AND WITHOUT ANXIETY DISORDERS (N = 234). WE EVALUATED A REPRESENTATIVE SUBSAMPLE OF PARTICIPANTS AT BASELINE AND AFTER 5 YEARS (N = 76) AND CATEGORIZED THEM ACCORDING TO THEIR ANXIETY DISORDER DIAGNOSIS AT BOTH TIME POINTS: (1) CONTROL GROUP (NO ANXIETY DISORDER, N = 18), (2) VARIABLE GROUP (ANXIETY DISORDER IN ONE EVALUATION, N = 38), AND (3) PERSISTENT GROUP (ANXIETY DISORDER AT BOTH TIME POINTS, N = 20). WE ASSESSED RELATIVE MEAN TL BY REAL-TIME QUANTITATIVE PCR AND DNA METHYLATION BY INFINIUM HUMANMETHYLATION450 BEADCHIP. WE CALCULATED AA USING THE HORVATH AGE ESTIMATION ALGORITHM AND ANALYZED DIFFERENCES AMONG GROUPS USING GENERALIZED LINEAR MIXED MODELS. THE PERSISTENT GROUP OF ANXIETY DISORDER DID NOT CHANGE TL OVER TIME (P = 0.495). THE VARIABLE GROUP HAD HIGHER BASELINE TL (P = 0.003) BUT NO ACCELERATED TL EROSION IN COMPARISON TO THE NON-ANXIETY CONTROL GROUP (P = 0.053). FURTHERMORE, THERE WERE NO DIFFERENCES IN AA AMONG GROUPS OVER TIME. OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT ADOLESCENTS WITH CHRONIC ANXIETY DID NOT CHANGE TELOMERE LENGTH OVER TIME, WHICH COULD BE RELATED TO A DELAY IN NEURONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THIS PERIOD OF LIFE. 2021 9 524 28 ASSOCIATIONS OF BDNF GENOTYPE AND PROMOTER METHYLATION WITH ACUTE AND LONG-TERM STROKE OUTCOMES IN AN EAST ASIAN COHORT. BACKGROUND: BRAIN DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) HAS BEEN SHOWN TO PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN POSTSTROKE RECOVERY. BDNF SECRETION IS INFLUENCED BY GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC PROFILES. THIS STUDY AIMED TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER BDNF VAL66MET POLYMORPHISM AND PROMOTER METHYLATION STATUS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH OUTCOMES AT TWO WEEKS AND ONE YEAR AFTER STROKE. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A TOTAL OF 286 PATIENTS WERE EVALUATED AT THE TIME OF ADMISSION AND TWO WEEKS AFTER STROKE, AND 222 (78%) WERE FOLLOWED ONE YEAR LATER IN ORDER TO EVALUATE CONSEQUENCES OF STROKE AT BOTH ACUTE AND CHRONIC STAGES. STROKE OUTCOMES WERE DICHOTOMISED INTO GOOD AND POOR BY THE MODIFIED RANKIN SCALE. STROKE SEVERITY (NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH STROKE SCALE), PHYSICAL DISABILITY (BARTHEL INDEX), AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION (MINI-MENTAL STATE EXAMINATION) WERE MEASURED. ASSOCIATIONS OF BDNF GENOTYPE AND METHYLATION STATUS ON STROKE OUTCOMES AND ASSESSMENT SCALE SCORES WERE INVESTIGATED USING LOGISTIC REGRESSION, REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA AND PARTIAL CORRELATION TESTS. BDNF VAL66MET POLYMORPHISM WAS INDEPENDENTLY ASSOCIATED WITH POOR OUTCOME AT 2 WEEKS AND AT 1 YEAR, AND WITH WORSENING PHYSICAL DISABILITY AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION OVER THAT PERIOD. HIGHER BDNF PROMOTER METHYLATION STATUS WAS INDEPENDENTLY ASSOCIATED WITH WORSE OUTCOMES AT 1 YEAR, AND WITH THE WORSENING OF PHYSICAL DISABILITY AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION. NO SIGNIFICANT GENOTYPE-METHYLATION INTERACTIONS WERE FOUND. CONCLUSIONS: A ROLE FOR BDNF IN POSTSTROKE RECOVERY WAS SUPPORTED, AND CLINICAL UTILITY OF BDNF GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC PROFILE AS PROGNOSTIC BIOMARKERS AND A TARGET FOR DRUG DEVELOPMENT WAS SUGGESTED. 2012 10 5648 27 SEX DIFFERENCES IN OPIOID RESPONSE LINKED TO OPRM1 AND COMT GENES DNA METHYLATION/GENOTYPES CHANGES IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC PAIN. ANALGESIC-RESPONSE VARIABILITY IN CHRONIC NONCANCER PAIN (CNCP) HAS BEEN REPORTED DUE TO SEVERAL BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS. THIS STUDY WAS UNDERTAKEN TO EXPLORE SEX DIFFERENCES LINKED TO OPRM1 AND COMT DNA METHYLATION CHANGES AND GENETIC VARIANTS IN ANALGESIC RESPONSE. A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY WITH 250 REAL-WORLD CNCP OUTPATIENTS WAS PERFORMED IN WHICH DATA FROM DEMOGRAPHIC, CLINICAL, AND PHARMACOLOGICAL VARIABLES WERE COLLECTED. DNA METHYLATION LEVELS (CPG ISLAND) WERE EVALUATED BY PYROSEQUENCING, AND THEIR INTERACTION WITH THE OPRM1 (A118G) AND COMT (G472A) GENE POLYMORPHISMS WAS STUDIED. A PRIORI-PLANNED STATISTICAL ANALYSES WERE CONDUCTED TO COMPARE RESPONSES BETWEEN FEMALES AND MALES. SEX-DIFFERENTIAL OPRM1 DNA METHYLATION WAS OBSERVED TO BE LINKED TO LOWER OPIOID USE DISORDER (OUD) CASES FOR FEMALES (P = 0.006). PATIENTS WITH LOWER OPRM1 DNA METHYLATION AND THE PRESENCE OF THE MUTANT G-ALLELE REDUCED OPIOID DOSE REQUIREMENTS (P = 0.001), EQUAL FOR BOTH SEXES. MOREOVER, COMT DNA METHYLATION LEVELS WERE NEGATIVELY RELATED TO PAIN RELIEF (P = 0.020), QUALITY OF LIFE (P = 0.046), AND SOME ADVERSE EVENTS (PROBABILITY > 90%) SUCH AS CONSTIPATION, INSOMNIA, OR NERVOUSNESS. FEMALES WERE, SIGNIFICANTLY, 5 YEARS OLDER WITH HIGH ANXIETY LEVELS AND A DIFFERENT SIDE-EFFECTS DISTRIBUTION THAN MALES. THE ANALYSES DEMONSTRATED SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FEMALES AND MALES RELATED TO OPRM1 SIGNALLING EFFICIENCY AND OUD, WITH A GENETIC-EPIGENETIC INTERACTION IN OPIOID REQUIREMENTS. THESE FINDINGS SUPPORT THE IMPORTANCE OF SEX AS A BIOLOGICAL VARIABLE TO BE FACTORED INTO CHRONIC PAIN-MANAGEMENT STUDIES. 2023 11 2205 36 EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF THE X CHROMOSOME INFLUENCES SUSCEPTIBILITY TO POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME. CONTEXT: THE CAUSE OF POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME (PCOS) IS UNKNOWN, ALTHOUGH GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ARE CLEARLY IMPLICATED. SOME GENETIC STUDIES HAVE SUGGESTED THE INVOLVEMENT OF X-LINKED GENES IN PCOS, BUT THE INFLUENCE OF X CHROMOSOME INACTIVATION (XCI) ON MANIFESTATION OF THIS DISORDER HAS NOT PREVIOUSLY BEEN EXAMINED. OBJECTIVE: THE OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY WAS TO TEST THE NULL HYPOTHESIS THAT XCI HAS NO INFLUENCE ON CLINICAL PRESENTATION OF PCOS. DESIGN: WE EXAMINED PATTERNS OF XCI BETWEEN SISTER PAIRS WITH THE SAME GENOTYPE AT A POLYMORPHIC LOCUS ON THE X CHROMOSOME IN FAMILIES WITH PCOS. SETTING: THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED AT A PRIVATE PRACTICE. PARTICIPANTS: PCOS WAS DEFINED AS HYPERANDROGENEMIA WITH CHRONIC ANOVULATION. FORTY FAMILIES WERE STUDIED IN WHICH DNA WAS OBTAINED FROM AT LEAST ONE PARENT, THE PROBAND, AND ONE SISTER THAT COULD BE ACCURATELY DIAGNOSED AS BEING AFFECTED OR UNAFFECTED. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): RELATIVE EXPRESSION OF TWO X-LINKED ALLELES WAS DETERMINED, AND THE RATIO OF ONE TO THE OTHER REPRESENTED THE PATTERN OF XCI. RESULTS: THE STATISTICAL ODDS ON A DIFFERENT CLINICAL PRESENTATION BETWEEN SISTERS WAS APPROXIMATELY 29 TIMES HIGHER IN SISTER PAIRS WITH DIFFERENT PATTERNS OF XCI, COMPARED WITH SISTER PAIRS WITH THE SAME PATTERN OF XCI (ODDS RATIO 28.9; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL 4.0-206; P = 0.0008). CONCLUSIONS: THIS STUDY PROVIDES EVIDENCE TO REFUTE THE NULL HYPOTHESIS AND PROPOSE A CLOSER INSPECTION OF X-LINKED GENES IN PCOS, ONE IN WHICH BOTH GENOTYPE AND EPIGENOTYPE ARE CONSIDERED. ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINANTS OF PCOS MAY ALTER CLINICAL PRESENTATION VIA EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, WHICH CURRENTLY REMAIN UNDETECTED IN TRADITIONAL GENETIC ANALYSES. 2006 12 401 34 ANALYSIS OF ABERRANT METHYLATION ON PROMOTER SEQUENCES OF TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENES AND TOTAL DNA IN SPUTUM SAMPLES: A PROMISING TOOL FOR EARLY DETECTION OF COPD AND LUNG CANCER IN SMOKERS. BACKGROUND: CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD) IS A DISORDER ASSOCIATED TO CIGARETTE SMOKE AND LUNG CANCER (LC). SINCE EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN ONCOGENES AND TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENES (TSGS) ARE CLEARLY IMPORTANT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF LC. IN THIS STUDY, WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT TOBACCO SMOKERS ARE SUSCEPTIBLE FOR METHYLATION IN THE PROMOTER REGION OF TSGS IN AIRWAY EPITHELIAL CELLS WHEN COMPARED WITH NON-SMOKER SUBJECTS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE USEFULNESS OF DETECTION OF GENES PROMOTER METHYLATION IN SPUTUM SPECIMENS, AS A COMPLEMENTARY TOOL TO IDENTIFY LC BIOMARKERS AMONG SMOKERS WITH EARLY COPD. METHODS: WE DETERMINED THE AMOUNT OF DNA IN INDUCED SPUTUM FROM PATIENTS WITH COPD (N = 23), LC (N = 26), AS WELL AS IN HEALTHY SUBJECTS (CTR) (N = 33), USING A COMMERCIAL KIT FOR DNA PURIFICATION, FOLLOWED BY ABSORBANCE MEASUREMENT AT 260 NM. THE FREQUENCY OF CDKN2A, CDH1 AND MGMT PROMOTER METHYLATION IN THE SAME GROUPS WAS DETERMINED BY METHYLATION-SPECIFIC POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (MSP). THE FISHER'S EXACT TEST WAS EMPLOYED TO COMPARE FREQUENCY OF RESULTS BETWEEN DIFFERENT GROUPS. RESULTS: DNA CONCENTRATION WAS 7.4 AND 5.8 TIMES HIGHER IN LC AND COPD COMPARED TO THE (CTR) (P < 0.0001), RESPECTIVELY. METHYLATION STATUS OF CDKN2A AND MGMT WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN COPD AND LC PATIENTS COMPARED WITH CTR GROUP (P < 0.0001). FREQUENCY OF CDH1 METHYLATION ONLY SHOWED A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LC PATIENTS AND CTR GROUP (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: WE PROVIDE EVIDENCE THAT ABERRANT METHYLATION OF TSGS IN SAMPLES OF INDUCED SPUTUM IS A USEFUL TOOL FOR EARLY DIAGNOSTIC OF LUNG DISEASES (LC AND COPD) IN SMOKER SUBJECTS. VIRTUAL SLIDES: THE ABSTRACT MUST FINISH WITH THE FOLLOWING TEXT: VIRTUAL SLIDES THE VIRTUAL SLIDE(S) FOR THIS ARTICLE CAN BE FOUND HERE: HTTP://WWW.DIAGNOSTICPATHOLOGY.DIAGNOMX.EU/VS/1127865005664160. 2012 13 3056 31 GENOME-WIDE DNA METHYLATION ANALYSIS IMPLICATES ENRICHMENT OF INTERFERON PATHWAY IN AFRICAN AMERICAN PATIENTS WITH SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS AND EUROPEAN AMERICANS WITH LUPUS NEPHRITIS. SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS (SLE) IS A CHRONIC, MULTISYSTEM, INFLAMMATORY AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE THAT DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTS WOMEN. TRENDS IN SLE PREVALENCE AND CLINICAL COURSE DIFFER BY ANCESTRY, WITH THOSE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ANCESTRY PRESENTING WITH MORE ACTIVE, SEVERE AND RAPIDLY PROGRESSIVE DISEASE THAN EUROPEAN AMERICANS. PREVIOUS RESEARCH ESTABLISHED ALTERED EPIGENETIC SIGNATURES IN SLE PATIENTS COMPARED TO CONTROLS. HOWEVER, THE CONTRIBUTION OF ABERRANT DNA METHYLATION (DNAM) TO THE RISK OF SLE BY ANCESTRY AND DIFFERENCES AMONG PATIENTS WITH SLE-ASSOCIATED LUPUS NEPHRITIS (LN) HAS NOT BEEN WELL DESCRIBED. WE EVALUATED THE DNA METHYLOMES OF 87 INDIVIDUALS INCLUDING 41 SLE PATIENTS, WITH AND WITHOUT LN, AND 46 CONTROLS ENROLLED IN AN ANCESTRY DIVERSE, WELL-CHARACTERIZED COHORT STUDY OF ESTABLISHED SLE (41 SLE PATIENTS [20 SLE-LN+, 21 SLE-LN-] AND 46 SEX-, RACE- AND AGE-MATCHED CONTROLS; 55% AFRICAN AMERICAN, 45% EUROPEAN AMERICAN). PARTICIPANTS WERE GENOTYPED USING THE INFINIUM GLOBAL DIVERSITY ARRAY (GDA), AND GENETIC ANCESTRY WAS ESTIMATED USING PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS. GENOME-WIDE DNA METHYLATION WAS INITIALLY MEASURED USING THE ILLUMINA METHYLATIONEPIC 850K BEADCHIP ARRAY FOLLOWED BY METHYLATION-SPECIFIC QPCR TO VALIDATE THE METHYLATION STATUS AT PUTATIVE LOCI. DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED POSITIONS (DMP) WERE IDENTIFIED USING A CASE-CONTROL APPROACH ADJUSTED FOR ANCESTRY. WE IDENTIFIED A TOTAL OF 51 DMPS IN CPGS AMONG SLE PATIENTS COMPARED TO CONTROLS. GENES PROXIMAL TO THESE CPGS WERE HIGHLY ENRICHED FOR INVOLVEMENT IN TYPE I INTERFERON SIGNALING. DMPS AMONG EUROPEAN AMERICAN SLE PATIENTS WITH LN WERE SIMILAR TO AFRICAN AMERICAN SLE PATIENTS WITH AND WITHOUT LN. OUR FINDINGS WERE VALIDATED USING AN ORTHOGONAL, METHYL-SPECIFIC PCR FOR THREE SLE-ASSOCIATED DMPS NEAR OR PROXIMAL TO MX1, USP18, AND IFITM1. OUR STUDY CONFIRMS PREVIOUS REPORTS THAT DMPS IN CPGS ASSOCIATED WITH SLE ARE ENRICHED IN TYPE I INTERFERON GENES. HOWEVER, WE SHOW THAT EUROPEAN AMERICAN SLE PATIENTS WITH LN HAVE SIMILAR DNAM PATTERNS TO AFRICAN AMERICAN SLE PATIENTS IRRESPECTIVE OF LN, SUGGESTING THAT ABERRANT DNAM ALTERS ACTIVITY OF TYPE I INTERFERON PATHWAY LEADING TO MORE SEVERE DISEASE INDEPENDENT OF ANCESTRY. 2023 14 2031 23 EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN LYMPHOCYTES OF SOLVENT-EXPOSED INDIVIDUALS. AIM: WE INVESTIGATED GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION ALTERATIONS IN LYMPHOCYTES OF SOLVENT WORKERS AND CHRONIC TOXIC ENCEPHALOPATHY (CTE) PATIENTS AND EXPLORED POTENTIAL GENE-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS FOR GST. POPULATION & METHODS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY WAS SET UP IN 41 REFERENTS, 128 SOLVENT WORKERS AND 23 CTE PATIENTS. RESULTS: WE FOUND A GLOBAL DNA HYPERMETHYLATION IN THE SOLVENT-EXPOSED POPULATION COMPARED WITH THE REFERENTS (P = 0.001, R = -0.544). GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION WAS NEGATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH EXPOSURE. FURTHERMORE, GSTP1 GENOTYPIC POLYMORPHISM WAS FOUND TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED (P = 0.033) WITH GLOBAL DNA HYPOMETHYLATION, WHICH INDICATES A POTENTIAL ROLE FOR GENE-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION IN THE ETIOLOGY OF SOLVENT-INDUCED NEUROBEHAVIORAL DISORDERS. CONCLUSION: THIS STUDY INDICATES THAT SOLVENT-INDUCED DNA METHYLATION ALTERATIONS HAVE AN IMPACT ON NEUROTOXICITY AND DEVELOPMENT OF CTE. 2012 15 4612 31 NEONATAL PAIN AND COMT VAL158MET GENOTYPE IN RELATION TO SEROTONIN TRANSPORTER (SLC6A4) PROMOTER METHYLATION IN VERY PRETERM CHILDREN AT SCHOOL AGE. CHILDREN BORN VERY PRETERM ARE EXPOSED TO REPEATED NEONATAL PROCEDURES THAT INDUCE PAIN AND STRESS DURING HOSPITALIZATION IN THE NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT (NICU). THE COMT VAL158MET GENOTYPE IS INVOLVED WITH PAIN SENSITIVITY, AND EARLY LIFE STRESS IS IMPLICATED IN ALTERED EXPRESSION OF METHYLATION OF THE SEROTONIN TRANSPORTER. WE EXAMINED: (1) WHETHER METHYLATION OF THE SEROTONIN TRANSPORTER GENE (SLC6A4) PROMOTER DIFFERS BETWEEN VERY PRETERM CHILDREN AND FULL-TERM CONTROLS AT SCHOOL AGE, (2) RELATIONSHIPS WITH CHILD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS, AND (3) WHETHER THE EXTENT OF NEONATAL PAIN EXPOSURE INTERACTS WITH THE COMT VAL158MET GENOTYPE TO PREDICT SLC6A4 METHYLATION AT 7 YEARS IN THE VERY PRETERM CHILDREN. WE EXAMINED THE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN THE COMT GENOTYPES, NEONATAL PAIN EXPOSURE (ADJUSTED FOR NEONATAL CLINICAL CONFOUNDERS), SLC6A4 METHYLATION AND BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS. VERY PRETERM CHILDREN HAD SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER METHYLATION AT 7/10 CPG SITES IN THE SLC6A4 PROMOTER COMPARED TO FULL-TERM CONTROLS AT 7 YEARS. NEONATAL PAIN (ADJUSTED FOR CLINICAL CONFOUNDERS) WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH TOTAL CHILD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS ON THE CHILD BEHAVIOR CHECKLIST (CBCL) QUESTIONNAIRE (ADJUSTED FOR CONCURRENT STRESSORS AND 5HTTLPR GENOTYPE) (P = 0.035). CBCL TOTAL PROBLEMS WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH GREATER SLC6A4 METHYLATION IN VERY PRETERM CHILDREN (P = 0.01). NEONATAL PAIN (ADJUSTED FOR CLINICAL CONFOUNDERS) AND COMT MET/MET GENOTYPE WERE ASSOCIATED WITH SLC6A4 PROMOTER METHYLATION IN VERY PRETERM CHILDREN AT 7 YEARS (P = 0.001). THESE FINDINGS PROVIDE EVIDENCE THAT BOTH GENETIC PREDISPOSITION AND EARLY ENVIRONMENT NEED TO BE CONSIDERED IN UNDERSTANDING SUSCEPTIBILITY FOR DEVELOPING BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS IN THIS VULNERABLE POPULATION. 2014 16 404 32 ANALYSIS OF EPIGENETIC AGE PREDICTORS IN PAIN-RELATED CONDITIONS. CHRONIC PAIN PREVALENCE IS HIGH WORLDWIDE AND INCREASES AT OLDER AGES. SIGNS OF PREMATURE AGING HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC PAIN, BUT FEW STUDIES HAVE INVESTIGATED AGING BIOMARKERS IN PAIN-RELATED CONDITIONS. A SET OF DNA METHYLATION (DNAM)-BASED ESTIMATES OF AGE, CALLED "EPIGENETIC CLOCKS," HAS BEEN PROPOSED AS BIOLOGICAL MEASURES OF AGE-RELATED ADVERSE PROCESSES, MORBIDITY, AND MORTALITY. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY IS TO ASSESS IF DIFFERENT PAIN-RELATED PHENOTYPES SHOW ALTERATIONS IN DNAM AGE. IN OUR ANALYSIS, WE CONSIDERED THREE COHORTS FOR WHICH WHOLE-BLOOD DNAM DATA WERE AVAILABLE: HEAT PAIN SENSITIVITY (HPS), INCLUDING 20 MONOZYGOTIC TWIN PAIRS DISCORDANT FOR HEAT PAIN TEMPERATURE THRESHOLD; FIBROMYALGIA (FM), INCLUDING 24 CASES AND 20 CONTROLS; AND HEADACHE, INCLUDING 22 CHRONIC MIGRAINE AND MEDICATION OVERUSE HEADACHE PATIENTS (MOH), 18 EPISODIC MIGRAINEURS (EM), AND 13 HEALTHY SUBJECTS. WE USED THE HORVATH'S EPIGENETIC AGE CALCULATOR TO OBTAIN DNAM-BASED ESTIMATES OF EPIGENETIC AGE, TELOMERE LENGTH, LEVELS OF 7 PROTEINS IN PLASMA, NUMBER OF SMOKED PACKS OF CIGARETTES PER YEAR, AND BLOOD CELL COUNTS. WE DID NOT FIND DIFFERENCES IN EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION, CALCULATED USING FIVE DIFFERENT EPIGENETIC CLOCKS, BETWEEN SUBJECTS DISCORDANT FOR PAIN-RELATED PHENOTYPES. TWINS WITH HIGH HPS HAD INCREASED CD8+ T CELL COUNTS (NOMINAL P = 0.028). HPS THRESHOLDS WERE NEGATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH ESTIMATED LEVELS OF GDF15 (NOMINAL P = 0.008). FM PATIENTS SHOWED DECREASED NAIVE CD4+ T CELL COUNTS COMPARED WITH CONTROLS (NOMINAL P = 0.015). THE SEVERITY OF FM MANIFESTATIONS EXPRESSED THROUGH VARIOUS EVALUATION TESTS WAS ASSOCIATED WITH DECREASED LEVELS OF LEPTIN, SHORTER LENGTH OF TELOMERES, AND REDUCED CD8+ T AND NATURAL KILLER CELL COUNTS (NOMINAL P < 0.05), WHILE THE DURATION OF PAINFUL SYMPTOMS WAS POSITIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH TELOMERE LENGTH (NOMINAL P = 0.034). NO DIFFERENCES IN DNAM-BASED ESTIMATES WERE DETECTED FOR MOH OR EM COMPARED WITH CONTROLS. IN SUMMARY, OUR STUDY SUGGESTS THAT HPS, FM, AND MOH/EM DO NOT SHOW SIGNS OF EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION IN WHOLE BLOOD, WHILE HPS AND FM ARE ASSOCIATED WITH DNAM-BASED ESTIMATES OF IMMUNOLOGICAL PARAMETERS, PLASMA PROTEINS, AND TELOMERE LENGTH. FUTURE STUDIES SHOULD EXTEND THESE OBSERVATIONS IN LARGER COHORTS. 2020 17 718 34 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 18 3557 32 IMPACT OF BMI AND WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE ON EPIGENOME-WIDE DNA METHYLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF EPIGENETIC BIOMARKERS IN BLOOD: AN EWAS IN MULTI-ETHNIC ASIAN INDIVIDUALS. BACKGROUND: THE PREVALENCE OF OBESITY AND ITS RELATED CHRONIC DISEASES HAVE BEEN INCREASING ESPECIALLY IN ASIAN COUNTRIES. OBESITY-RELATED GENETIC VARIANTS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, BUT THESE EXPLAIN LITTLE OF THE VARIATION IN BMI. RECENT STUDIES REPORTED ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN DNA METHYLATION AND OBESITY, MOSTLY IN NON-ASIAN POPULATIONS. METHODS: WE PERFORMED AN EPIGENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY (EWAS) ON GENERAL ADIPOSITY (BODY MASS INDEX, BMI) AND ABDOMINAL ADIPOSITY (WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE, WC) IN 409 MULTI-ETHNIC ASIAN INDIVIDUALS AND REPLICATED BMI AND WAIST-ASSOCIATED DNA METHYLATION CPGS IDENTIFIED IN OTHER POPULATIONS. THE CROSS-LAGGED PANEL MODEL AND MENDELIAN RANDOMIZATION WERE USED TO ASSESS THE TEMPORAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN METHYLATION AND BMI. THE TEMPORAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE IDENTIFIED CPGS AND INFLAMMATION AND METABOLIC MARKERS WAS ALSO EXAMINED. RESULTS: EWAS IDENTIFIED 116 DNA METHYLATION CPGS INDEPENDENTLY ASSOCIATED WITH BMI AND EIGHT INDEPENDENTLY ASSOCIATED WITH WC AT FALSE DISCOVERY RATE P(FDR) < 0.05 IN 409 ASIAN SAMPLES. WE REPLICATED 110 BMI-ASSOCIATED CPGS PREVIOUSLY REPORTED IN EUROPEANS AND IDENTIFIED SIX NOVEL BMI-ASSOCIATED CPGS AND TWO NOVEL WC-ASSOCIATED CPGS. WE OBSERVED HIGH CONSISTENCY IN ASSOCIATION DIRECTION OF EFFECT COMPARED TO STUDIES IN OTHER POPULATIONS. CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP ANALYSES INDICATED THAT BMI WAS MORE LIKELY TO BE THE CAUSE OF DNA METHYLATION ALTERATION, RATHER THAN THE CONSEQUENCE. THE CAUSAL ANALYSES USING BMI-ASSOCIATED METHYLATION RISK SCORE ALSO SUGGESTED THAT HIGHER LEVELS OF THE INFLAMMATION MARKER IL-6 WERE LIKELY THE CONSEQUENCE OF METHYLATION CHANGE. CONCLUSION: OUR STUDY PROVIDES EVIDENCE OF AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN OBESITY AND DNA METHYLATION IN MULTI-ETHNIC ASIANS AND SUGGESTS THAT OBESITY CAN DRIVE METHYLATION CHANGE. THE RESULTS ALSO SUGGESTED POSSIBLE CAUSAL INFLUENCE THAT OBESITY-RELATED METHYLATION CHANGES MIGHT HAVE ON INFLAMMATION AND LIPOPROTEIN LEVELS. 2021 19 2995 39 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 20 57 34 A GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY OF QUANTITATIVE COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHIC EMPHYSEMA IN KOREAN POPULATIONS. EMPHYSEMA IS AN IMPORTANT FEATURE OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD). GENETIC FACTORS LIKELY AFFECT EMPHYSEMA PATHOGENESIS, BUT THIS QUESTION HAS PREDOMINANTLY BEEN STUDIED IN THOSE OF EUROPEAN ANCESTRY. IN THIS STUDY, WE SOUGHT TO DETERMINE GENETIC COMPONENTS OF EMPHYSEMA SEVERITY AND CHARACTERIZE THE POTENTIAL FUNCTION OF THE ASSOCIATED LOCI IN KOREAN POPULATION. WE PERFORMED A GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY (GWAS) ON QUANTITATIVE EMPHYSEMA IN SUBJECTS WITH OR WITHOUT COPD FROM TWO KOREAN COPD COHORTS. WE INVESTIGATED THE FUNCTIONAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE LOCI USING EPIGENETIC ANNOTATION AND GENE EXPRESSION DATA. WE ALSO COMPARED OUR GWAS RESULTS WITH AN EPIGENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY AND PREVIOUS DIFFERENTIAL GENE EXPRESSION ANALYSIS. IN TOTAL, 548 SUBJECTS (476 [86.9%] MALE) INCLUDING 514 COPD PATIENTS WERE EVALUATED. WE IDENTIFIED ONE GENOME-WIDE SIGNIFICANT SNP (P < 5.0 X 10(-8)), RS117084279, NEAR PIBF1. WE IDENTIFIED AN ADDITIONAL 57 SNPS (P < 5.0 X 10(-6)) ASSOCIATED WITH EMPHYSEMA IN ALL SUBJECTS, AND 106 SNPS (P < 5.0 X 10(-6)) IN COPD PATIENTS. OF THESE CANDIDATE SNPS, 2 (RS12459249, RS11667314) NEAR CYP2A6 WERE EXPRESSION QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCI IN LUNG TISSUE AND A SNP (RS11214944) NEAR NNMT WAS AN EXPRESSION QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCUS IN WHOLE BLOOD. OF NOTE, RS11214944 WAS IN LINKAGE DISEQUILIBRIUM WITH VARIANTS IN ENHANCER HISTONE MARKS IN LUNG TISSUE. SEVERAL GENES NEAR ADDITIONAL SNPS WERE IDENTIFIED IN OUR PREVIOUS EWAS STUDY WITH NOMINAL LEVEL OF SIGNIFICANCE. WE IDENTIFIED A NOVEL SNP ASSOCIATED WITH QUANTITATIVE EMPHYSEMA ON CT. INCLUDING THE NOVEL SNP, SEVERAL CANDIDATE SNPS IN OUR STUDY MAY PROVIDE CLUES TO THE GENETIC ETIOLOGY OF EMPHYSEMA IN ASIAN POPULATIONS. FURTHER RESEARCH AND VALIDATION OF THE LOCI WILL HELP DETERMINE THE GENETIC FACTORS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMPHYSEMA. 2021