Alcohol and tobacco consumption alter hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis DNA methylation

Meeshanthini V Dogan; Man-Kit Lei; Steven R.H Beach; Gene H Brody; Robert A Philibert

doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.01.018

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Alcohol and tobacco consumption alter hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis DNA methylation

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Alcohol and tobacco consumption alter hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis DNA methylation

Meeshanthini V Dogan, Man-Kit Lei, Steven R.H Beach, Gene H Brody and Robert A Philibert

Psychoneuroendocrinology, Vol.66, pp.176-184

04/2016

DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.01.018

PMCID: PMC4788520

PMID: 26821212

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/4788520View

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Abstract

•Objective DNA methylation biomarkers can quantify smoking and alcohol consumption.•Substance use affects HPA axis DNA methylation.•Influence of substance use is more prominent at FKBP5 than NR3C1.\nAlcohol and cigarette consumption have profound effects on genome wide DNA methylation and are common, often cryptic, comorbid features of many psychiatric disorders. This cryptic consumption is a possible impediment to understanding the biology of certain psychiatric disorders because if the effects of substance use are not taken into account, their presence may confound efforts to identify effects of other behavioral disorders. Since the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis is known to be dysregulated in these disorders, we examined the potential for confounding effects of alcohol and cigarette consumption by examining their effects on peripheral DNA methylation at two key HPA axis genes, NR3C1 and FKBP5.\nWe found that the influence of alcohol and smoke exposure is more prominent at the FKBP5 gene than the NR3C1 gene. Furthermore, in both genes, loci that were consistently significantly associated with smoking and alcohol consumption demethylated with increasing exposure.\nWe conclude that epigenetic studies of complex disorders involving the HPA axis need to carefully control for the effects of substance use in order to minimize the possibility of type I and type II errors.

DNA methylation

Epigenetics

Drinking

Hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis

Psychiatric disorders

Smoking

Details

Title: Subtitle: Alcohol and tobacco consumption alter hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis DNA methylation
Creators: Meeshanthini V Dogan - Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Man-Kit Lei - Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
Steven R.H Beach - Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
Gene H Brody - Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
Robert A Philibert - Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Psychoneuroendocrinology, Vol.66, pp.176-184
DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.01.018
PMID: 26821212
PMCID: PMC4788520
NLM abbreviation: Psychoneuroendocrinology
ISSN: 0306-4530
eISSN: 1873-3360
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
Grant note: DOI: 10.13039/100000002, name: National Institutes of Health, award: R43AA022041, R43DA037620; name: Center for Contextual Genetics and Prevention Science, award: DA027827
Language: English
Date published: 04/2016
Academic Unit: Roy J. Carver Department of Biomedical Engineering; Psychiatry; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984070350102771

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