Review ARTICLE

Front. Psychiatry, 25 September 2013 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2013.00110

Epigenomic mechanisms of early adversity and HPA dysfunction: considerations for PTSD research

Patrick O. McGowan

The researcher "used hippocampal samples from suicide completers with and without a history of childhood abuse, and examined DNA methylation of the GR1F promoter, a region highly syntenic with the rat GR17 splice variant. We found higher levels of DNA methylation of the GR promoter region among suicide victims with a history of abuse or severe neglect in childhood, but not among suicide victims who were not abused in childhood or among a control group who had died of causes unrelated to suicide. This hypermethylation was associated with increased transcript abundance of both GR1F splice variant and total abundance of GR transcript, and in vitro analysis indicated that regions hypermethyated in abused suicide victims inhibited the binding of the EGR1 transcription factor (also known as NGFI-A, Zif268, Krox24, and ZENK) to select nucleotides within the promoter. "

Thank you for your response, Beatrice. This is very helpful, especially the association of hypermethylation with total abundance of GR transcript.