Epigenetic mechanisms of resilience to psychopathology following trauma exposure
There is a dearth of research examining epigenetic modifications associated with resilience to psychopathology after trauma exposure. This study sought to investigate resilience-associated methylation differences in 51 glucocorticoid receptor regulatory network (GRRN) genes which have been previously associated with various forms of psychopathology. Multiple linear regressions were performed on each of the CpG sites associated with the 51 GRRN genes with resiliency as the predictor and DNA methylation as the outcome in a sample of 171 Detroit residents age 20-89 (M = 54.00, SD =14.14, 63.2% female). Resilience was significantly (p < 0.05) associated with changes in methylation at 23 genes, with 6 surviving FDR correction. T-tests were then performed for the 23 CpG sites that met nominal significance to assess whether there was significant differential methylation in the resilient group relative to the non-resilient group. Nine CpG sites demonstrated significant resilience-associated methylation differences as well as differential methylation when compared to the susceptible group. The results of this study identify potential candidate genes associated with resiliency and contribute to the growing body of literature seeking to identify resiliency markers in humans.
PTSD, trauma, resilience, psychopathology, epigenetics
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign