Plasticity of Functional MAOA Gene Methylation in Acrophobia
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- Epigenetic mechanisms have been proposed to mediate fear extinction in animal models. Here, MAOA methylation was analyzed via direct sequencing of sodium bisulfite-treated DNA extracted from blood cells before and after a 2-week exposure therapy in a sample of n = 28 female patients with acrophobia as well as in n = 28 matched healthy female controls. Clinical response was measured using the Acrophobia Questionnaire and the Attitude Towards Heights Questionnaire. The functional relevance of altered MAOA methylation was investigated byEpigenetic mechanisms have been proposed to mediate fear extinction in animal models. Here, MAOA methylation was analyzed via direct sequencing of sodium bisulfite-treated DNA extracted from blood cells before and after a 2-week exposure therapy in a sample of n = 28 female patients with acrophobia as well as in n = 28 matched healthy female controls. Clinical response was measured using the Acrophobia Questionnaire and the Attitude Towards Heights Questionnaire. The functional relevance of altered MAOA methylation was investigated by luciferase-based reporter gene assays. MAOA methylation was found to be significantly decreased in patients with acrophobia compared with healthy controls. Furthermore, MAOA methylation levels were shown to significantly increase after treatment and correlate with treatment response as reflected by decreasing Acrophobia Questionnaire/Attitude Towards Heights Questionnaire scores. Functional analyses revealed decreased reporter gene activity in presence of methylated compared with unmethylated pCpGfree_MAOA reporter gene vector constructs. The present proof-of-concept psychotherapy-epigenetic study for the first time suggests functional MAOA methylation changes as a potential epigenetic correlate of treatment response in acrophobia and fosters further investigation into the notion of epigenetic mechanisms underlying fear extinction.…
Autor(en): | Miriam A. Schiele, Christiane Ziegler, Leonie Kollert, Andrea Katzorke, Christoph Schartner, Yasmin Busch, Daniel Gromer, Andreas Reif, Paul Pauli, Jürgen Deckert, Martin J. Herrmann, Katharina Domschke |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-228571 |
Dokumentart: | Artikel / Aufsatz in einer Zeitschrift |
Institute der Universität: | Medizinische Fakultät / Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie, Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie |
Fakultät für Humanwissenschaften (Philos., Psycho., Erziehungs- u. Gesell.-Wissensch.) / Institut für Psychologie | |
Sprache der Veröffentlichung: | Englisch |
Titel des übergeordneten Werkes / der Zeitschrift (Englisch): | International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology |
Erscheinungsjahr: | 2018 |
Band / Jahrgang: | 21 |
Heft / Ausgabe: | 9 |
Seitenangabe: | 822-827 |
Originalveröffentlichung / Quelle: | International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology (2018) 21(9): 822–827 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1093/ijnp/pyy050 |
Allgemeine fachliche Zuordnung (DDC-Klassifikation): | 1 Philosophie und Psychologie / 15 Psychologie / 150 Psychologie |
Freie Schlagwort(e): | DNA methylation; anxiety; epigenetics; extinction; monoamine oxidase A |
Datum der Freischaltung: | 25.01.2023 |
Lizenz (Deutsch): | CC BY-NC: Creative-Commons-Lizenz: Namensnennung, Nicht kommerziell 4.0 International |