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Methylation at SLC6A4 is linked to family history of child abuse: An examination of the Iowa Adoptee sample
Author(s) -
Beach Steven R.H.,
Brody Gene H.,
Todorov Alexandre A.,
Gunter Tracy D.,
Philibert Robert A.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
american journal of medical genetics part b: neuropsychiatric genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.393
H-Index - 126
eISSN - 1552-485X
pISSN - 1552-4841
DOI - 10.1002/ajmg.b.31028
Subject(s) - psychology , library science , psychiatry , gerontology , history , medicine , computer science
In this letter we describe novel, preliminary work, examining a possible mechanism of the Gene-environment interactions thought to moderate the response of individuals to stressful life events. The molecular mechanisms through which this moderation may be accomplished are currently unknown but some have suggested DNA methylation (Lui and others, 1997; McGowan and others 2009). In order to test this hypothesis, we analyzed the relationship of child abuse to methylation of cytosine residues in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene in DNA from 96 male and 96 female subjects from the Iowa Adoptee Studies using a principal components analysis. The results from this preliminary work suggest a lasting effect of child abuse on overall methylation levels in both males and females.