Plasma total homocysteine is associated with DNA methylation in patients with schizophrenia.

ABSTRACT: Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a devastating psychiatric disorder with a median lifetime prevalence rate of 0.7-0.8%. Elevated plasma total homocysteine has been suggested as a risk factor for SCZ, and various biological effects of hyperhomocysteinemia have been proposed to be relevant to the pathophysiology of SCZ. As increased attention is paid to aberrant DNA methylation in SCZ, homocysteine is attracting additional interest as a potential key substance. Homocysteine is formed in the methionine cycle, which is involved in one-carbon methyl group-transfer metabolism, and it acts as a methyl donor when it is converted to S-adenosyl-methionine. To date, no studies have examined the relationship between homocysteine and genome-wide DNA methylation in SCZ. We examined the relationship between plasma

SUBMITTER: Kinoshita M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3857338 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature