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Segura AG, de la Serna E, Sugranyes G, Baeza I, Valli I, Díaz-Caneja C, Martín N, Moreno DM, Gassó P, Rodriguez N, Mas S, Castro-Fornieles J. Epigenetic age deacceleration in youth at familial risk for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:155. [PMID: 37156786 PMCID: PMC10167217 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02463-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Epigenetic modifications occur sequentially during the lifespan, but their pace can be altered by external stimuli. The onset of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder is critically modulated by stressors that may alter the epigenetic pattern, a putative signature marker of exposure to environmental risk factors. In this study, we estimated the age-related epigenetic modifications to assess the differences between young individuals at familial high risk (FHR) and controls and their association with environmental stressors. The sample included 117 individuals (6-17 years) at FHR (45%) and a control group (55%). Blood and saliva samples were used estimate the epigenetic age with six epigenetic clocks through methylation data. Environmental risk was measured with obstetric complications, socioeconomic statuses and recent stressful life events data. Epigenetic age was correlated with chronological age. FHR individuals showed epigenetic age deacceleration of Horvath and Hannum epigenetic clocks compared to controls. No effect of the environmental risk factors on the epigenetic age acceleration could be detected. Epigenetic age acceleration adjusted by cell counts showed that the FHR group was deaccelerated also with the PedBE epigenetic clock. Epigenetic age asynchronicities were found in the young at high risk, suggesting that offspring of affected parents follow a slower pace of biological aging than the control group. It still remains unclear which environmental stressors orchestrate the changes in the methylation pattern. Further studies are needed to better characterize the molecular impact of environmental stressors before illness onset, which could be critical in the development of tools for personalized psychiatry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex G Segura
- Department of Clinical Foundations, Pharmacology Unit, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Elena de la Serna
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology Department, 2021SGR01319, Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Gisela Sugranyes
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology Department, 2021SGR01319, Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Inmaculada Baeza
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology Department, 2021SGR01319, Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Isabel Valli
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Covadonga Díaz-Caneja
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Nuria Martín
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Dolores M Moreno
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
- Adolescent Inpatient Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
- Psychiatry Department, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Patricia Gassó
- Department of Clinical Foundations, Pharmacology Unit, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Natalia Rodriguez
- Department of Clinical Foundations, Pharmacology Unit, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sergi Mas
- Department of Clinical Foundations, Pharmacology Unit, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain.
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Josefina Castro-Fornieles
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology Department, 2021SGR01319, Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
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