Alterations in DNA methylation of Fkbp5 as a determinant of blood-brain correlation of glucocorticoid exposure.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Epigenetic studies that utilize peripheral tissues to identify molecular substrates of neuropsychiatric disorders rely on the assumption that disease-relevant, cellular alterations that occur in the brain are mirrored and detectable in peripheral tissues such as blood. We sought to test this assumption by using a mouse model of Cushing's disease and asking whether epigenetic changes induced by glucocorticoids can be correlated between these tissue types.

Methods

Mice were treated with different doses of glucocorticoids in their drinking water for four weeks to assess gene expression and DNA methylation (DNAm) changes in the stress response gene Fkbp5.

Results

Significant linear relationships were observed between DNAm and four-week mean plasma corticosteron

SUBMITTER: Ewald ER 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4047971 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature