@article{BiernackaSangkuhlJenkinsetal.2015, author = {Biernacka, J. M. and Sangkuhl, K. and Jenkins, G. and Whaley, R. M. and Barman, P. and Batzler, A. and Altman, R. B. and Arolt, V. and Brockm{\"o}ller, J. and Chen, C. H. and Domschke, K. and Hall-Flavin, D. K. and Hong, C. J. and Illi, A. and Ji, Y. and Kampman, O. and Kinoshita, T. and Leinonen, E. and Liou, Y. J. and Mushiroda, T. and Nonen, S. and Skime, M. K. and Wang, L. and Baune, B. T. and Kato, M. and Liu, Y. L. and Praphanphoj, V. and Stingl, J. C. and Tsai, S. J. and Kubo, M. and Klein, T. E. and Weinshilboum, R.}, title = {The International SSRI Pharmacogenomics Consortium (ISPC): a genome-wide association study of antidepressant treatment response}, series = {Translational Psychiatry}, volume = {5}, journal = {Translational Psychiatry}, number = {e553}, doi = {10.1038/tp.2015.47}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-143223}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Response to treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) varies considerably between patients. The International SSRI Pharmacogenomics Consortium (ISPC) was formed with the primary goal of identifying genetic variation that may contribute to response to SSRI treatment of major depressive disorder. A genome-wide association study of 4-week treatment outcomes, measured using the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD-17), was performed using data from 865 subjects from seven sites. The primary outcomes were percent change in HRSD-17 score and response, defined as at least 50\% reduction in HRSD-17. Data from two prior studies, the Pharmacogenomics Research Network Antidepressant Medication Pharmacogenomics Study (PGRN-AMPS) and the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) study, were used for replication, and a meta-analysis of the three studies was performed (N = 2394). Although many top association signals in the ISPC analysis map to interesting candidate genes, none were significant at the genome-wide level and the associations were not replicated using PGRN-AMPS and STAR*D data. Top association results in the meta-analysis of response included single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the HPRTP4 (hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase pseudogene 4)/VSTM5 (V-set and transmembrane domain containing 5) region, which approached genome-wide significance (P = 5.03E - 08) and SNPs 5' upstream of the neuregulin-1 gene, NRG1 (P = 1.20E - 06). NRG1 is involved in many aspects of brain development, including neuronal maturation and variations in this gene have been shown to be associated with increased risk for mental disorders, particularly schizophrenia. Replication and functional studies of these findings are warranted.}, language = {en} } @article{SchrautJakobWeidneretal.2014, author = {Schraut, K. G. and Jakob, S. B. and Weidner, M. T. and Schmitt, A. G. and Scholz, C. J. and Strekalova, T. and El Hajj, N. and Eijssen, L. M. T. and Domschke, K. and Reif, A. and Haaf, T. and Ortega, G. and Steinbusch, H. W. M. and Lesch, K. P. and Van den Hove, D. L.}, title = {Prenatal stress-induced programming of genome-wide promoter DNA methylation in 5-HTT-deficient mice}, series = {Translational Psychiatry}, volume = {4}, journal = {Translational Psychiatry}, doi = {10.1038/tp.2014.107}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-119199}, pages = {e473}, year = {2014}, abstract = {The serotonin transporter gene (5-HTT/SLC6A4)-linked polymorphic region has been suggested to have a modulatory role in mediating effects of early-life stress exposure on psychopathology rendering carriers of the low-expression short (s)-variant more vulnerable to environmental adversity in later life. The underlying molecular mechanisms of this gene-by-environment interaction are not well understood, but epigenetic regulation including differential DNA methylation has been postulated to have a critical role. Recently, we used a maternal restraint stress paradigm of prenatal stress (PS) in 5-HTT-deficient mice and showed that the effects on behavior and gene expression were particularly marked in the hippocampus of female 5-Htt+/- offspring. Here, we examined to which extent these effects are mediated by differential methylation of DNA. For this purpose, we performed a genome-wide hippocampal DNA methylation screening using methylated-DNA immunoprecipitation (MeDIP) on Affymetrix GeneChip Mouse Promoter 1.0 R arrays. Using hippocampal DNA from the same mice as assessed before enabled us to correlate gene-specific DNA methylation, mRNA expression and behavior. We found that 5-Htt genotype, PS and their interaction differentially affected the DNA methylation signature of numerous genes, a subset of which showed overlap with the expression profiles of the corresponding transcripts. For example, a differentially methylated region in the gene encoding myelin basic protein (Mbp) was associated with its expression in a 5-Htt-, PS- and 5-Htt × PS-dependent manner. Subsequent fine-mapping of this Mbp locus linked the methylation status of two specific CpG sites to Mbp expression and anxiety-related behavior. In conclusion, hippocampal DNA methylation patterns and expression profiles of female prenatally stressed 5-Htt+/- mice suggest that distinct molecular mechanisms, some of which are promoter methylation-dependent, contribute to the behavioral effects of the 5-Htt genotype, PS exposure and their interaction.}, language = {en} } @article{ErhardtAkulaSchumacheretal.2012, author = {Erhardt, A. and Akula, N. and Schumacher, J. and Czamara, D. and Karbalai, N. and M{\"u}ller-Myhsok, B. and Mors, O. and Borglum, A. and Kristensen, A. S. and Woldbye, D. P. D. and Koefoed, P. and Eriksson, E. and Maron, E. and Metspalu, A. and Nurnberger, J. and Philibert, R. A. and Kennedy, J. and Domschke, K. and Reif, A. and Deckert, J. and Otowa, T. and Kawamura, Y. and Kaiya, H. and Okazaki, Y. and Tanii, H. and Tokunaga, K. and Sasaki, T. and Ioannidis, J. P. A. and McMahon, F. J. and Binder, E. B.}, title = {Replication and meta-analysis of TMEM132D gene variants in panic disorder}, series = {Translational Psychiatry}, volume = {2}, journal = {Translational Psychiatry}, number = {e156}, doi = {10.1038/tp.2012.85}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-133324}, year = {2012}, abstract = {A recent genome-wide association study in patients with panic disorder (PD) identified a risk haplotype consisting of two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs7309727 and rs11060369) located in intron 3 of TMEM132D to be associated with PD in three independent samples. Now we report a subsequent confirmation study using five additional PD case-control samples (n = 1670 cases and n 2266 controls) assembled as part of the Panic Disorder International Consortium (PanIC) study for a total of 2678 cases and 3262 controls in the analysis. In the new independent samples of European ancestry (EA), the association of rs7309727 and the risk haplotype rs7309727-rs11060369 was, indeed, replicated, with the strongest signal coming from patients with primary PD, that is, patients without major psychiatric comorbidities (n 1038 cases and n 2411 controls). This finding was paralleled by the results of the meta-analysis across all samples, in which the risk haplotype and rs7309727 reached P-levels of P = 1.4e-8 and P = 1.1e-8, respectively, when restricting the samples to individuals of EA with primary PD. In the Japanese sample no associations with PD could be found. The present results support the initial finding that TMEM132D gene contributes to genetic susceptibility for PD in individuals of EA. Our results also indicate that patient ascertainment and genetic background could be important sources of heterogeneity modifying this association signal in different populations.}, language = {en} } @article{HommersRichterYangetal.2018, author = {Hommers, L. G. and Richter, J. and Yang, Y. and Raab, A. and Baumann, C. and Lang, K. and Schiele, M. A. and Weber, H. and Wittmann, A. and Wolf, C. and Alpers, G. W. and Arolt, V. and Domschke, K. and Fehm, L. and Fydrich, T. and Gerlach, A. and Gloster, A. T. and Hamm, A. O. and Helbig-Lang, S. and Kircher, T. and Lang, T. and Pan{\´e}-Farr{\´e}, C. A. and Pauli, P. and Pfleiderer, B. and Reif, A. and Romanos, M. and Straube, B. and Str{\"o}hle, A. and Wittchen, H.-U. and Frantz, S. and Ertl, G. and Lohse, M. J. and Lueken, U. and Deckert, J.}, title = {A functional genetic variation of SLC6A2 repressor hsa-miR-579-3p upregulates sympathetic noradrenergic processes of fear and anxiety}, series = {Translational Psychiatry}, volume = {8}, journal = {Translational Psychiatry}, doi = {10.1038/s41398-018-0278-4}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-322497}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Increased sympathetic noradrenergic signaling is crucially involved in fear and anxiety as defensive states. MicroRNAs regulate dynamic gene expression during synaptic plasticity and genetic variation of microRNAs modulating noradrenaline transporter gene (SLC6A2) expression may thus lead to altered central and peripheral processing of fear and anxiety. In silico prediction of microRNA regulation of SLC6A2 was confirmed by luciferase reporter assays and identified hsa-miR-579-3p as a regulating microRNA. The minor (T)-allele of rs2910931 (MAFcases = 0.431, MAFcontrols = 0.368) upstream of MIR579 was associated with panic disorder in patients (pallelic = 0.004, ncases = 506, ncontrols = 506) and with higher trait anxiety in healthy individuals (pASI = 0.029, pACQ = 0.047, n = 3112). Compared to the major (A)-allele, increased promoter activity was observed in luciferase reporter assays in vitro suggesting more effective MIR579 expression and SLC6A2 repression in vivo (p = 0.041). Healthy individuals carrying at least one (T)-allele showed a brain activation pattern suggesting increased defensive responding and sympathetic noradrenergic activation in midbrain and limbic areas during the extinction of conditioned fear. Panic disorder patients carrying two (T)-alleles showed elevated heart rates in an anxiety-provoking behavioral avoidance test (F(2, 270) = 5.47, p = 0.005). Fine-tuning of noradrenaline homeostasis by a MIR579 genetic variation modulated central and peripheral sympathetic noradrenergic activation during fear processing and anxiety. This study opens new perspectives on the role of microRNAs in the etiopathogenesis of anxiety disorders, particularly their cardiovascular symptoms and comorbidities.}, language = {en} } @article{ZieglerRichterMahretal.2016, author = {Ziegler, C. and Richter, J. and Mahr, M. and Gajewska, A. and Schiele, M.A. and Gehrmann, A. and Schmidt, B. and Lesch, K.-P. and Lang, T. and Helbig-Lang, S. and Pauli, P. and Kircher, T. and Reif, A. and Rief, W. and Vossbeck-Elsebusch, A.N. and Arolt, V. and Wittchen, H.-U. and Hamm, A.O. and Deckert, J. and Domschke, K.}, title = {MAOA gene hypomethylation in panic disorder-reversibility of an epigenetic risk pattern by psychotherapy}, series = {Translational Psychiatry}, journal = {Translational Psychiatry}, number = {6}, doi = {10.1038/tp.2016.41}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-164422}, pages = {e773}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Epigenetic signatures such as methylation of the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene have been found to be altered in panic disorder (PD). Hypothesizing temporal plasticity of epigenetic processes as a mechanism of successful fear extinction, the present psychotherapy-epigenetic study for we believe the first time investigated MAOA methylation changes during the course of exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in PD. MAOA methylation was compared between N=28 female Caucasian PD patients (discovery sample) and N=28 age- and sex-matched healthy controls via direct sequencing of sodium bisulfite-treated DNA extracted from blood cells. MAOA methylation was furthermore analyzed at baseline (T0) and after a 6-week CBT (T1) in the discovery sample parallelized by a waiting time in healthy controls, as well as in an independent sample of female PD patients (N=20). Patients exhibited lower MAOA methylation than healthy controls (P<0.001), and baseline PD severity correlated negatively with MAOA methylation (P=0.01). In the discovery sample, MAOA methylation increased up to the level of healthy controls along with CBT response (number of panic attacks; T0-T1: +3.37±2.17\%), while non-responders further decreased in methylation (-2.00±1.28\%; P=0.001). In the replication sample, increases in MAOA methylation correlated with agoraphobic symptom reduction after CBT (P=0.02-0.03). The present results support previous evidence for MAOA hypomethylation as a PD risk marker and suggest reversibility of MAOA hypomethylation as a potential epigenetic correlate of response to CBT. The emerging notion of epigenetic signatures as a mechanism of action of psychotherapeutic interventions may promote epigenetic patterns as biomarkers of lasting extinction effects.}, language = {en} } @article{StraubeReifRichteretal.2014, author = {Straube, B. and Reif, A. and Richter, J. and Lueken, U. and Weber, H. and Arolt, V. and Jansen, A. and Zwanzger, P. and Domschke, K. and Pauli, P. and Konrad, C. and Gerlach, A. L. and Lang, T. and Fydrich, T. and Alpers, G. W. and Stroehle, A. and Wittmann, A. and Pfleiderer, B. and Wittchen, H.-U. and Hamm, A. and Deckert, J. and Kircher, T.}, title = {The functional - 1019C/G HTR1A polymorphism and mechanisms of fear}, series = {Translational Psychiatry}, volume = {4}, journal = {Translational Psychiatry}, issn = {2158-3188}, doi = {10.1038/tp.2014.130}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-114369}, pages = {e490}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Serotonin receptor 1A gene (HTR1A) knockout mice show pronounced defensive behaviour and increased fear conditioning to ambiguous conditioned stimuli. Such behaviour is a hallmark of pathological human anxiety, as observed in panic disorder with agoraphobia (PD/AG). Thus, variations in HTR1A might contribute to neurophysiological differences within subgroups of PD/AG patients. Here, we tested this hypothesis by combining genetic with behavioural techniques and neuroimaging. In a clinical multicentre trial, patients with PD/AG received 12 sessions of manualized cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and were genotyped for HTR1A rs6295. In four subsamples of this multicentre trial, exposure behaviour (n = 185), defensive reactivity measured using a behavioural avoidance test (BAT; before CBT: n = 245; after CBT: n = 171) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data during fear conditioning were acquired before and after CBT (n = 39). HTR1A risk genotype (GG) carriers more often escaped during the BAT before treatment. Exploratory fMRI results suggest increased activation of the amygdala in response to threat as well as safety cues before and after treatment in GG carriers. Furthermore, GG carriers demonstrated reduced effects of CBT on differential conditioning in regions including the bilateral insulae and the anterior cingulate cortex. Finally, risk genotype carriers demonstrated reduced self-initiated exposure behaviour to aversive situations. This study demonstrates the effect of HTR1A variation on defensive behaviour, amygdala activity, CBT-induced neural plasticity and normalization of defence behaviour in PD/AG. Our results, therefore, translate evidence from animal studies to humans and suggest a central role for HTR1A in differentiating subgroups of patients with anxiety disorders.}, language = {en} } @article{RaynerColemanPurvesetal.2019, author = {Rayner, Christopher and Coleman, Jonathan R. I. and Purves, Kirstin L. and Hodsoll, John and Goldsmith, Kimberley and Alpers, Georg W. and Andersson, Evelyn and Arolt, Volker and Boberg, Julia and B{\"o}gels, Susan and Creswell, Cathy and Cooper, Peter and Curtis, Charles and Deckert, J{\"u}rgen and Domschke, Katharina and El Alaoui, Samir and Fehm, Lydia and Fydrich, Thomas and Gerlach, Alexander L. and Grocholewski, Anja and Hahlweg, Kurt and Hamm, Alfons and Hedman, Erik and Heiervang, Einar R. and Hudson, Jennifer L. and J{\"o}hren, Peter and Keers, Robert and Kircher, Tilo and Lang, Thomas and Lavebratt, Catharina and Lee, Sang-hyuck and Lester, Kathryn J. and Lindefors, Nils and Margraf, J{\"u}rgen and Nauta, Maaike and Pan{\´e}-Farr{\´e}, Christiane A. and Pauli, Paul and Rapee, Ronald M. and Reif, Andreas and Rief, Winfried and Roberts, Susanna and Schalling, Martin and Schneider, Silvia and Silverman, Wendy K. and Str{\"o}hle, Andreas and Teismann, Tobias and Thastum, Mikael and Wannem{\"u}ller, Andre and Weber, Heike and Wittchen, Hans-Ulrich and Wolf, Christiane and R{\"u}ck, Christian and Breen, Gerome and Eley, Thalia C.}, title = {A genome-wide association meta-analysis of prognostic outcomes following cognitive behavioural therapy in individuals with anxiety and depressive disorders}, series = {Translational Psychiatry}, volume = {9}, journal = {Translational Psychiatry}, number = {150}, doi = {10.1038/s41398-019-0481-y}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-225048}, pages = {1-13}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Major depressive disorder and the anxiety disorders are highly prevalent, disabling and moderately heritable. Depression and anxiety are also highly comorbid and have a strong genetic correlation (r(g) approximate to 1). Cognitive behavioural therapy is a leading evidence-based treatment but has variable outcomes. Currently, there are no strong predictors of outcome. Therapygenetics research aims to identify genetic predictors of prognosis following therapy. We performed genome-wide association meta-analyses of symptoms following cognitive behavioural therapy in adults with anxiety disorders (n = 972), adults with major depressive disorder (n = 832) and children with anxiety disorders (n = 920; meta-analysis n = 2724). We (h(SNP)(2)) and polygenic scoring was used to examine genetic associations between therapy outcomes and psychopathology, personality and estimated the variance in therapy outcomes that could be explained by common genetic variants learning. No single nucleotide polymorphisms were strongly associated with treatment outcomes. No significant estimate of h(SNP)(2) could be obtained, suggesting the heritability of therapy outcome is smaller than our analysis was powered to detect. Polygenic scoring failed to detect genetic overlap between therapy outcome and psychopathology, personality or learning. This study is the largest therapygenetics study to date. Results are consistent with previous, similarly powered genome-wide association studies of complex traits.}, language = {en} } @article{PrelogHilligardtSchmidtetal.2016, author = {Prelog, Martina and Hilligardt, Deborah and Schmidt, Christian A. and Przybylski, Grzegorz K. and Leierer, Johannes and Almanzar, Giovanni and El Hajj, Nady and Lesch, Klaus-Peter and Arolt, Volker and Zwanzger, Peter and Haaf, Thomas and Domschke, Katharina}, title = {Hypermethylation of FOXP3 Promoter and Premature Aging of the Immune System in Female Patients with Panic Disorder?}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {11}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {6}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0157930}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-179684}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Immunological abnormalities associated with pathological conditions, such as higher infection rates, inflammatory diseases, cancer or cardiovascular events are common in patients with panic disorder. In the present study, T cell receptor excision circles (TRECs), Forkhead-Box-Protein P3 gene (FOXP3) methylation of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and relative telomere lengths (RTLs) were investigated in a total and subsamples of 131 patients with panic disorder as compared to 131 age- and sex-matched healthy controls in order to test for a potential dysfunction and premature aging of the immune system in anxiety disorders. Significantly lower TRECs (p = 0.004) as well as significant hypermethylation of the FOXP3 promoter region (p = 0.005) were observed in female (but not in male) patients with panic disorder as compared to healthy controls. No difference in relative telomere length was discerned between patients and controls, but significantly shorter telomeres in females, smokers and older persons within the patient group. The presently observed reduced TRECs in panic disorder patients and FOXP3 hypermethylation in female patients with panic disorder potentially reflect impaired thymus and immunosuppressive Treg function, which might partly account for the known increased morbidity and mortality of anxiety disorders conferred by e.g. cancer and cardiovascular disorders.}, language = {en} } @article{LuekenKuhnYangetal.2017, author = {Lueken, U and Kuhn, M and Yang, Y and Straube, B and Kircher, T and Wittchen, H-U and Pfleiderer, B and Arolt, V and Wittmann, A and Str{\"o}hle, A and Weber, H and Reif, A and Domschke, K and Deckert, J and Lonsdorf, TB}, title = {Modulation of defensive reactivity by GLRB allelic variation: converging evidence from an intermediate phenotype approach}, series = {Translational Psychiatry}, volume = {7}, journal = {Translational Psychiatry}, number = {e1227}, doi = {10.1038/tp.2017.186}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-182381}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Representing a phylogenetically old and very basic mechanism of inhibitory neurotransmission, glycine receptors have been implicated in the modulation of behavioral components underlying defensive responding toward threat. As one of the first findings being confirmed by genome-wide association studies for the phenotype of panic disorder and agoraphobia, allelic variation in a gene coding for the glycine receptor beta subunit (GLRB) has recently been associated with increased neural fear network activation and enhanced acoustic startle reflexes. On the basis of two independent healthy control samples, we here aimed to further explore the functional significance of the GLRB genotype (rs7688285) by employing an intermediate phenotype approach. We focused on the phenotype of defensive system reactivity across the levels of brain function, structure, and physiology. Converging evidence across both samples was found for increased neurofunctional activation in the (anterior) insular cortex in GLRB risk allele carriers and altered fear conditioning as a function of genotype. The robustness of GLRB effects is demonstrated by consistent findings across different experimental fear conditioning paradigms and recording sites. Altogether, findings provide translational evidence for glycine neurotransmission as a modulator of the brain's evolutionary old dynamic defensive system and provide further support for a strong, biologically plausible candidate intermediate phenotype of defensive reactivity. As such, glycine-dependent neurotransmission may open up new avenues for mechanistic research on the etiopathogenesis of fear and anxiety disorders.}, language = {en} }