Adverse childhood experiences, posttraumatic stress, and FKBP5 methylation patterns in postpartum women and their newborn infants

PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY

卷:114

Article

Grasso, Damion J.¹  Drury, Stacy²  Briggs-Gowan, Margaret¹  Johnson, Amy³  Ford, Julian¹  Lapidus, Garry^4,5  Scranton, Victoria¹  Abreu, Christine⁶  Covault, Jonathan¹ 

[1] Univ Connecticut, Dept Psychiat, Sch Med, Mansfield, PA 06269 USA

[2] Tulane Univ, Sch Med, Psychiat & Behav Sci, New Orleans, LA 70118 USA

[3] Hartford Hosp, Obstet & Gynecol, Hartford, CT 06115 USA

[4] Univ Connecticut, Dept Pediat & Community Med, Sch Med, Mansfield, PA USA

[5] Connecticut Childrens Med Ctr, Mansfield, PA USA

[6] Univ Connecticut, Clin Res Ctr, Sch Med, Mansfield, PA USA

关键词: Adversity;    Epigenetics;    Maternal factors;    Prenatal;    Post-traumatic stress disorder;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104604

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Background: Genetic variation and epigenetic mechanisms involving the stress-related gene FKBP5 have been implicated in the intergenerational transmission of trauma-related effects in adult offspring of trauma-exposed caregivers, but these processes have not been fully explored in postpartum women and their newborn infants. Methods: Women recruited from a prenatal care clinic during their third trimester of pregnancy (N = 114) completed a battery of instruments assessing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), adversity in adulthood, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, negative emotional state, and emotion dysregulation. FKBP5 rs1360780 genotype and intron 7 methylation were derived from saliva collected from postpartum mothers and their newborn infants within 24 h of delivery. Results: Allele-specific associations of methylation with maternal ACEs and prenatal trauma-related symptoms were evident; however, relations differed between mothers and newborns. In mothers carrying the stress sensitive T-allele (CT and TT genotypes), maternal FKBP5 methylation negatively correlated with threat-based ACEs and maternal PTSD symptoms during pregnancy, but not deprivation-based ACEs. In infants homozygous for the C allele (CC genotype), infant FKBP5 methylation positively correlated with maternal threat-based ACEs and prenatal PTSD symptom severity, but not deprivation-based ACEs or adversity in adulthood. Conclusions: Our results provide evidence that links maternal threat-based ACEs and trauma-related symptoms during pregnancy with allele-specific epigenetic patterns in postpartum women and their newborn infants. These findings provide mechanistic insight into the potential intergenerational impact of ACEs and the effect of maternal PTSD symptoms during pregnancy.

【 授权许可】

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