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Zänkert S, Bellingrath S, Wüst S, Kudielka BM. HPA axis responses to psychological challenge linking stress and disease: What do we know on sources of intra- and interindividual variability? Psychoneuroendocrinology 2019; 105:86-97. [PMID: 30390966 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.10.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2018] [Revised: 09/24/2018] [Accepted: 10/26/2018] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Stress is an ubiquitous phenomenon with significant impact on human physiology when it lasts too long, when it is too intense, or when it hits vulnerable individuals. Examining the mechanisms linking stress exposure with health and disease is an important endeavor in psychoneuroendocrine research. Empirical evidence so far revealed large intra- as well as inter-individual variability in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis responses to acute psychosocial stress, showing that the HPA axis is a highly adaptive system. Thus, the characterization of intra- und inter-individual patterns of HPA axis reactivity is of high scientific interest and forms the basis on which mechanistic links between stress response (dys)regulation and health impairments can be examined. To date, basic knowledge has been, and still is, accumulated on demographic, biological (including genetic and epigenetic) factors, lifestyle behavioral variables, consumption of substances and medication, psychological and personality factors, as well as on methodological aspects. Besides this, there is also very recent progress in respect to the development of laboratory stress paradigms that can be applied in virtual reality or inside an MRI-scanner. In sum, the present review updates our current knowledge on moderating and intervening factors as sources of intra- und inter-individual variability in human cortisol stress responses and offers recommendations for future research designs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Zänkert
- Department of Medical Psychology, Psychological Diagnostics and Research Methodology, University of Regensburg, Germany
| | - Silja Bellingrath
- Department of Work- and Organizational Psychology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
| | - Stefan Wüst
- Institute of Experimental Psychology, University of Regensburg, Germany
| | - Brigitte M Kudielka
- Department of Medical Psychology, Psychological Diagnostics and Research Methodology, University of Regensburg, Germany.
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Serpeloni F, Nätt D, Assis SGD, Wieling E, Elbert T. Experiencing community and domestic violence is associated with epigenetic changes in DNA methylation of BDNF and CLPX in adolescents. Psychophysiology 2019; 57:e13382. [PMID: 31059136 PMCID: PMC7003421 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2018] [Revised: 04/03/2019] [Accepted: 04/04/2019] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Experiencing violence changes behavior, shapes personalities, and poses a risk factor for mental disorders. This association might be mediated through epigenetic modifications that affect gene expression, such as DNA methylation. The present study investigated the impact of community and domestic violence on DNA methylation measured in saliva collected from 375 individuals including three generations: grandmothers (n = 126), mothers (n = 125), and adolescents (n = 124, 53% female). Using the Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip array, in adolescents, we detected two CpG sites that showed an association of DNA methylation and lifetime exposure to community and domestic violence even after FDR correction: BDNF_cg06260077 (logFC −0.454, p = 3.71E‐07), and CLPX_cg01908660 (logFC = −0.372, p = 1.38E‐07). Differential DNA methylation of the CpG BDNF_cg06260077 associated with exposure to violence was also observed in the maternal but not the grandmaternal generation. BDNF (brain‐derived neurotrophic factor) and CLPX (caseinolytic mitochondrial matrix peptidase chaperone subunit) genes are involved in neural development. Our results thus reveal altered molecular mechanisms of developmental and intergenerational trajectories in survivors of repeated violent experiences. Violent attacks leave lasting imprints in memory. This has been shown in neural connectivity and also in gene expression. Here, we determined DNA methylation, as it controls gene expression, in grandmothers, mothers, and children exposed to high levels of community and domestic violence (N = 375). Especially in adolescents this epigenetic mark was associated with exposures to violence in at least two protein‐coding genes (BDNF, CLPX). Both genes are well known for their role in stress regulation, affecting intergenerational vulnerability or resilience to mental illness. We conclude that developmental and molecular trajectories may be modified in young survivors of repeated violence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernanda Serpeloni
- Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.,National School of Public Health of Rio de Janeiro and National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents' Health Fernandes Figueira, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Daniel Nätt
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Simone Gonçalves de Assis
- National School of Public Health of Rio de Janeiro and National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents' Health Fernandes Figueira, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Elizabeth Wieling
- Family Social Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota
| | - Thomas Elbert
- Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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Serpeloni F, Radtke KM, Hecker T, Sill J, Vukojevic V, de Assis SG, Schauer M, Elbert T, Nätt D. Does Prenatal Stress Shape Postnatal Resilience? - An Epigenome-Wide Study on Violence and Mental Health in Humans. Front Genet 2019; 10:269. [PMID: 31040859 PMCID: PMC6477038 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2019.00269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2018] [Accepted: 03/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Stress during pregnancy widely associates with epigenetic changes and psychiatric problems during childhood. Animal studies, however, show that under specific postnatal conditions prenatal stress may have other, less detrimental consequences for the offspring. Here, we studied mental health and epigenome-wide DNA methylation in saliva following intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy in São Gonçalo, a Brazilian city with high levels of violence. Not surprisingly, mothers exposed to pregnancy IPV expressed elevated depression, PTSD and anxiety symptoms. Children had similar psychiatric problems when they experienced maternal IPV after being born. More surprisingly, when maternal IPV occurred both during (prenatal) and after pregnancy these problems were absent. Following prenatal IPV, genomic sites in genes encoding the glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1) and its repressor FKBP51 (FKBP5) were among the most differentially methylated and indicated an enhanced ability to terminate hormonal stress responses in prenatally stressed children. These children also showed more DNA methylation in heterochromatin-like regions, which previously has been associated with stress/disease resilience. A similar relationship was seen in prenatally stressed middle-eastern refugees of the same age as the São Gonçalo children but exposed to postnatal war-related violence. While our study is limited in location and sample size, it provides novel insights on how prenatal stress may epigenetically shape resilience in humans, possibly through interactions with the postnatal environment. This translates animal findings and emphasizes the importance to account for population differences when studying how early life gene–environment interactions affects mental health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernanda Serpeloni
- Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.,Department of Studies in Violence and Health Jorge Careli, National School of Public Health of Rio de Janeiro - National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Karl M Radtke
- Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.,Evolutionary Biology and Zoology, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Tobias Hecker
- Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Johanna Sill
- Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Vanja Vukojevic
- Division of Molecular Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Simone G de Assis
- Department of Studies in Violence and Health Jorge Careli, National School of Public Health of Rio de Janeiro - National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Maggie Schauer
- Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Thomas Elbert
- Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Daniel Nätt
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
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Folger AT, Ding L, Ji H, Yolton K, Ammerman RT, Van Ginkel JB, Bowers K. Neonatal NR3C1 Methylation and Social-Emotional Development at 6 and 18 Months of Age. Front Behav Neurosci 2019; 13:14. [PMID: 30804765 PMCID: PMC6371639 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2018] [Accepted: 01/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The variation in childhood social-emotional development within at-risk populations may be attributed in part to epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation (DNAm) that respond to environmental stressors. These mechanisms may partially underlie the degree of vulnerability (and resilience) to negative social-emotional development within adverse psychosocial environments. Extensive research supports an association between maternal adversity and offspring DNAm of the NR3C1 gene, which encodes the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). A gap in knowledge remains regarding the relationship between NR3C1 DNAm, measured in neonatal (1-month of age) buccal cells, and subsequent social-emotional development during infancy and early childhood. We conducted a longitudinal cohort study of n = 53 mother-child dyads (n = 30 with developmental outcomes formed the basis of current study) who were enrolled in a home visiting (HV) program. Higher mean DNAm of the NR3C1 exon 1F promoter was significantly associated with lower 6-month Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE) scores-more positive infant social-emotional functioning. A similar trend was observed at 18-months of age in a smaller sample (n = 12). The findings of this pilot study indicate that in a diverse and disadvantaged population, the level of neonatal NR3C1 DNAm is related to later social-emotional development. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alonzo T. Folger
- Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States
| | - Lili Ding
- Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States
| | - Hong Ji
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Cell Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- California National Primate Research Center, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Kimberly Yolton
- Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, Division of General and Community Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States
| | - Robert T. Ammerman
- Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States
| | - Judith B. Van Ginkel
- Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States
| | - Katherine Bowers
- Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States
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Hoffmann A, Spengler D. The Mitochondrion as Potential Interface in Early-Life Stress Brain Programming. Front Behav Neurosci 2018; 12:306. [PMID: 30574076 PMCID: PMC6291450 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2018] [Accepted: 11/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Mitochondria play a central role in cellular energy-generating processes and are master regulators of cell life. They provide the energy necessary to reinstate and sustain homeostasis in response to stress, and to launch energy intensive adaptation programs to ensure an organism’s survival and future well-being. By this means, mitochondria are particularly apt to mediate brain programming by early-life stress (ELS) and to serve at the same time as subcellular substrate in the programming process. With a focus on mitochondria’s integrated role in metabolism, steroidogenesis and oxidative stress, we review current findings on altered mitochondrial function in the brain, the placenta and peripheral blood cells following ELS-dependent programming in rodents and recent insights from humans exposed to early life adversity (ELA). Concluding, we propose a role of the mitochondrion as subcellular intersection point connecting ELS, brain programming and mental well-being, and a role as a potential site for therapeutic interventions in individuals exposed to severe ELS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anke Hoffmann
- Epigenomics of Early Life, Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Dietmar Spengler
- Epigenomics of Early Life, Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
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Grandmaternal stress during pregnancy and DNA methylation of the third generation: an epigenome-wide association study. Transl Psychiatry 2017; 7:e1202. [PMID: 28809857 PMCID: PMC5611722 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2017.153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2017] [Revised: 04/30/2017] [Accepted: 06/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Stress during pregnancy may impact subsequent generations, which is demonstrated by an increased susceptibility to childhood and adulthood health problems in the children and grandchildren. Although the importance of the prenatal environment is well reported with regards to future physical and emotional outcomes, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that mediate the long-term consequences of early stress across generations. Recent studies have identified DNA methylation as a possible mediator of the impact of prenatal stress in the offspring. Whether psychosocial stress during pregnancy also affects DNA methylation of the grandchildren is still not known. In the present study we examined the multigenerational hypothesis, that is, grandmaternal exposure to psychosocial stress during pregnancy affecting DNA methylation of the grandchildren. We determined the genome-wide DNA methylation profile in 121 children (65 females and 56 males) and tested for associations with exposure to grandmaternal interpersonal violence during pregnancy. We observed methylation variations of five CpG sites significantly (FDR<0.05) associated with the grandmother's report of exposure to violence while pregnant with the mothers of the children. The results revealed differential methylation of genes previously shown to be involved in circulatory system processes (FDR<0.05). This study provides support for DNA methylation as a biological mechanism involved in the transmission of stress across generations and motivates further investigations to examine prenatal-dependent DNA methylation as a potential biomarker for health problems.
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