English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Stress, particularly when experienced early in life, can have profound implications for mental health. Previous research covering various tissues such as the brain, suggests that the detrimental impact of early-life stress (ELS) on mental health is mediated via epigenetic modifications including DNA methylation. Genes of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis—in particular, the glucocorticoid receptor ( hGR ) gene—stand out as key targets for ELS. Even though the link between  hGR  methylation and either ELS or psychopathology is fairly well established, the mutually dependent relationships between ELS, DNA methylation and psychopathology remain to be uncovered. The specific psychopathology an individual might develop in the aftermath of stressful events can be highly variable, however, most studies investigating  hGR  methylation and psychopathology suffer from being limited to a single symptom cluster of mental disorders. Here, we screened volunteers for childhood maltreatment and analyzed whether it associates with  hGR  methylation in lymphocytes and a range of measures of psychological ill-health.  hGR  methylation in lymphocytes most likely reflects methylation patterns found in the brain and thus provides valuable insights into the etiology of psychopathology. We find the interaction between childhood maltreatment and  hGR  methylation to be strongly correlated with an increased vulnerability to psychopathology providing evidence of epigenome × environment interactions. Furthermore, our results indicate an additive effect of childhood maltreatment and  hGR  methylation in predicting borderline personality disorder (BPD)-associated symptoms, suggesting that the combination of both ELS and DNA methylation that possibly represents unfavorable events experienced even earlier in life poses the risk for BPD.

Epigenetic modifications of the glucocorticoid receptor gene are associated with the vulnerability to psychopathology in childhood maltreatment