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Variation in DNA methylation of the oxytocin receptor gene predicts children's resilience to prenatal stress

Year: 2017
Type: article
Abstract: Emerging research in epigenetics has shown that there is variability in how environmental exposures "get under the skin" through mechanisms like DNA methylation to influence gene expression that may lead to differential adaptations to stress. This is the first study to examine prospectively the relationship between DNA methylation at birth and resilience to prenatal environmental stressors in several domains (conduct, hyperactivity, emotional problems, and global symptomatology) in middle childhood. We focused on DNA methylation in the vicinity of the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene as it has been previously associated with impairments in social-cognitive processes that may underlie a wide range of childhood psychopathology. Participants were 91 youth exposed to pre- and postnatal adversity with established conduct problem trajectories drawn from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Consistent with our hypothesis, OXTR DNA methylation was predictive of resilience in the conduct problems domain in middle childhood. DNA methylation profiles did not predict resilience in domains of emotional, hyperactivity, and global symptomatology, suggesting a potential role for OXTR in the development of conduct problems in particular. However, individuals who were resilient to conduct problems were also broadly resilient across multiple domains. Therefore, future research should elucidate the biological pathways between OXTR DNA methylation and gene expression and its relation to impairments in social behavior.
DOI: 10.1017/s0954579417001316
Authors: Izabela Milaniak, Charlotte A. M. Cecil, Edward D. Barker, Caroline L. Relton, Tom R. Gaunt, Wendy McArdle, Sara R. Jaffee
Language: English
Open Access status: green
Funders: Wellcome Trust, University of Bristol, Medical Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Awards: G1192034430, G1415860003, G1605161196, G1955001954, G235045266, How early stress gets under the skin: The role of DNA methylation in the development of youth conduct problems and comorbid symptoms, G317400622, G3233603352, G3831911591, Accessible resource for integrated epigenomics studies (ARIES), The Avon Longitudinal Study for Parents and Children: An international resource for population genomic and lifecourse epidemiology. Core programme support 2014-2019., The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children: An international resource for population genomics and lifecourse epidemiology. Core Programme Support 2011-2015 and Core programme support 2014-2019, G5562631338, Accessible resource for integrated epigenomics studies (ARIES), G6119919417, G6751436026, G738105237, G7775523268, Epigenetic Pathways to Conduct Problem Trajectories: Early Environmental Risks, G824700880
OpenAlex ID: W2603653232
FWCI: 4.463
Cites: 69
Cited by: 57
Related to: 10