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Wortinger LA, Stavrum AK, Shadrin AA, Szabo A, Rukke SH, Nerland S, Smelror RE, Jørgensen KN, Barth C, Andreou D, Weibell MA, Djurovic S, Andreassen OA, Thoresen M, Ursini G, Agartz I, Le Hellard S. Divergent epigenetic responses to perinatal asphyxia in severe mental disorders. Transl Psychiatry 2024; 14:16. [PMID: 38191519 PMCID: PMC10774425 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02709-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Revised: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Epigenetic modifications influenced by environmental exposures are molecular sources of phenotypic heterogeneity found in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and may contribute to shared etiopathogenetic mechanisms of these two disorders. Newborns who experienced perinatal asphyxia have suffered reduced oxygen delivery to the brain around the time of birth, which increases the risk of later psychiatric diagnosis. This study aimed to investigate DNA methylation in blood cells for associations with a history of perinatal asphyxia, a neurologically harmful condition occurring within the biological environment of birth. We utilized prospective data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway to identify incidents of perinatal asphyxia in 643 individuals with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and 676 healthy controls. We performed an epigenome wide association study to distinguish differentially methylated positions associated with perinatal asphyxia. We found an interaction between methylation and exposure to perinatal asphyxia on case-control status, wherein having a history of perinatal asphyxia was associated with an increase of methylation in healthy controls and a decrease of methylation in patients on 4 regions of DNA important for brain development and function. The differentially methylated regions were observed in genes involved in oligodendrocyte survival and axonal myelination and functional recovery (LINGO3); assembly, maturation and maintenance of the brain (BLCAP;NNAT and NANOS2) and axonal transport processes and neural plasticity (SLC2A14). These findings are consistent with the notion that an opposite epigenetic response to perinatal asphyxia, in patients compared with controls, may contribute to molecular mechanisms of risk for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura A Wortinger
- Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
- NORMENT, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
| | - Anne-Kristin Stavrum
- NORMENT, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Dr. Einar Martens Research Group for Biological Psychiatry, Center for Medical Genetics and Molecular Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
| | - Alexey A Shadrin
- NORMENT, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- KG Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Attila Szabo
- NORMENT, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- KG Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Stener Nerland
- Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- NORMENT, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Runar Elle Smelror
- Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- NORMENT, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Kjetil Nordbø Jørgensen
- NORMENT, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Psychiatry, Telemark Hospital, Skien, Norway
| | - Claudia Barth
- Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- NORMENT, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Dimitrios Andreou
- Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- NORMENT, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Melissa A Weibell
- TIPS-Network for Clinical Research in Psychosis, Department of Psychiatry, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway
- Faculty of Health, Network for Medical Sciences, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway
| | - Srdjan Djurovic
- NORMENT, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- KG Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Medical Genetics, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ole A Andreassen
- NORMENT, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- KG Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Marianne Thoresen
- Department of Physiology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Neonatal Neuroscience, Translational Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Gianluca Ursini
- Lieber Institute for Brain Development, Johns Hopkins Medical Campus, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Ingrid Agartz
- Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- NORMENT, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- KG Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Stephanie Le Hellard
- NORMENT, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Dr. Einar Martens Research Group for Biological Psychiatry, Center for Medical Genetics and Molecular Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
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