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Maternal adversities during pregnancy and cord blood oxytocin receptor (OXTR) DNA methylation

Unternaehrer, Eva ; Bolten, Margarete ; Nast, Irina ; Staehli, Simon ; Meyer, Andrea H. ; Dempster, Emma ; Hellhammer, Dirk H. ; Lieb, Roselind ; Meinlschmidt, Gunther

In: Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 2016, vol. 11, no. 9, p. 1460-1470

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    Title
    • Maternal adversities during pregnancy and cord blood oxytocin receptor (OXTR) DNA methylation
    Author
    • Unternaehrer, Eva. University of Basel, Department of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, 4055 Basel, Switzerland
    • Bolten, Margarete. University of Basel, Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Hospital, 4058 Basel, Switzerland
    • Nast, Irina. University of Basel, National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Swiss Etiological Study of Adjustment and Mental Health (sesam), 4055 Basel, Switzerland
    • Staehli, Simon. University of Trier, Institute of Psychobiology, 54296 Trier, Germany
    • Meyer, Andrea H.. University of Basel, Department of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, 4055 Basel, Switzerland
    • Dempster, Emma. University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter EX1 2LU, UK
    • Hellhammer, Dirk H.. Institute for Stress Medicine Trier, 54295 Trier, Germany
    • Lieb, Roselind. University of Basel, Department of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, 4055 Basel, Switzerland
    • Meinlschmidt, Gunther. University of Basel, Department of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, 4055 Basel, Switzerland
    Document Type
    • Postprint
    Language
    • English
    Published in
    • Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 2016, vol. 11, no. 9, p. 1460-1470. Oxford University Press
    Other Version
    OAI-PMH Identifier
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:332372
    Summary
    The aim of this study was to investigate whether maternal adversities and cortisol levels during pregnancy predict cord blood DNA methylation of the oxytocin receptor (OXTR). We collected cord blood of 39 babies born to mothers participating in a cross-sectional study (N = 100) conducted in Basel, Switzerland (2007-10). Mothers completed the Inventory of Life Events (second trimester: T2), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS, third trimester: T3), the Trier Inventory of Chronic Stress (TICS-K, 1-3 weeks postpartum) and provided saliva samples (T2, T3) for maternal cortisol profiles, as computed by the area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCg) or increase (AUCi) for the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and for diurnal cortisol profiles (DAY). OXTR DNA methylation was quantified using Sequenom EpiTYPER. The number of stressful life events (P = 0.032), EPDS score (P = 0.007) and cortisol AUCgs at T2 (CAR: P = 0.020; DAY: P = 0.024) were negatively associated with OXTR DNA methylation. Our findings suggest that distinct prenatal adversities predict decreased DNA methylation in a gene that is relevant for childbirth, maternal behavior and wellbeing of mother and offspring. If a reduced OXTR methylation increases OXTR expression, our findings could suggest an epigenetic adaptation to an adverse early environment.