Genetic variation in oxytocin rs2740210 and early adversity associated with postpartum depression and breastfeeding duration

Jonas, Wibke; Mileva‐Seitz, Viara R.; Girard, Amy Webb; Bisceglia, Rossana; Kennedy, James L.; Sokolowski, Marla B.; Meaney, Michael J.; Fleming, Alison S.; Steiner, Meir

doi:10.1111/gbb.12069

Cited by 97 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 106 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…A sequence variation in the OXT gene (rs2740210, A/C) has been shown to interact with maternal ELS to predict postpartum depression (PPD) and breastfeeding duration in two independent samples (Jonas et al, 2013). Mothers homozygous for the C allele tended to discontinue breastfeeding much earlier when they were exposed to ELS than women who carried the protective A allele.…”

Section: Gene-environment Interactions and Epigenetic Modificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oxytocin pathways in the intergenerational transmission of maternal early life stress

Toepfer

Heim

Entringer

et al. 2017

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Severe stress in early life, such as childhood abuse and neglect, constitutes a major risk factor in the etiology of psychiatric disorders and somatic diseases. Importantly, these long-term effects may impact the next generation. The intergenerational transmission of maternal early life stress (ELS) may occur via pre-and postnatal pathways, such as alterations in maternal-fetal-placental stress physiology, maternal depression during pregnancy and postpartum, as well as impaired mother-offspring interactions. The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has gained considerable attention for its role in modulating all of these assumed transmission pathways. Moreover, central and peripheral OT signaling pathways are highly sensitive to environmental exposures and may be compromised by ELS with implications for these putative transmission mechanisms. Together, these data suggest that OT pathways play an important role in the intergenerational transmission of maternal ELS in humans. By integrating recent studies on gene-environment interactions and epigenetic modifications in OT pathway genes, the present review aims to develop a conceptual framework of intergenerational transmission of maternal ELS that emphasizes the role of OT.

show abstract

Section: Gene-environment Interactions and Epigenetic Modificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oxytocin pathways in the intergenerational transmission of maternal early life stress

Toepfer

Heim

Entringer

et al. 2017

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…OXT knockout mice (Oxt −/− ) show aberrations in social behavior (10,11). In humans, single nucleotide polymorphisms of OXT are associated with maternal bonding (12,13) and psychiatric conditions, including autism (14,15) and schizophrenia (16,17). Although OXT is an important gene within the oxytocin system, there currently exists a scant amount of empirical evidence linking OXT with human sociability.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Epigenetic modification ofOXTand human sociability

Haas

Filkowski

Cochran

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Across many mammalian species there exist genetic and biological systems that facilitate the tendency to be social. Oxytocin is a neuropeptide involved in social-approach behaviors in humans and others mammals. Although there exists a large, mounting body of evidence showing that oxytocin signaling genes are associated with human sociability, very little is currently known regarding the way the structural gene for oxytocin (OXT) confers individual differences in human sociability. In this study, we undertook a comprehensive approach to investigate the association between epigenetic modification of OXT via DNA methylation, and overt measures of social processing, including self-report, behavior, and brain function and structure. Genetic data were collected via saliva samples and analyzed to target and quantify DNA methylation across the promoter region of OXT. We observed a consistent pattern of results across sociability measures. People that exhibit lower OXT DNA methylation (presumably linked to higher OXT expression) display more secure attachment styles, improved ability to recognize emotional facial expressions, greater superior temporal sulcus activity during two social-cognitive functional MRI tasks, and larger fusiform gyrus gray matter volume than people that exhibit higher OXT DNA methylation. These findings provide empirical evidence that epigenetic modification of OXT is linked to several overt measures of sociability in humans and serve to advance progress in translational social neuroscience research toward a better understanding of the evolutionary and genetic basis of normal and abnormal human sociability.ociability is a central feature of the human species. Through one perspective, the complex array of human social-cognition and behavior serves to differentiate humans from other animals. However, there exist several core elemental components of the human sociobiological system that are present across many animal species, which may have remained relatively conserved throughout recent evolutionary history (1). Elucidating the genetic and biological substrates of social behavior serves to advance the way basic human nature is understood and improves the way genetic and biological markers can be used to prevent, diagnose, and treat people with impairments in social cognition and behavior.Oxytocin is a neurohypophysial peptide synthesized in the hypothalamus in the brain, linked to a wide range of social behaviors in humans and other mammals. Administration of oxytocin in humans is associated with changes in social-approach behaviors, such as trust (2) and personal proximity (3). This evidence has motivated the search for genes within the oxytocin system that confer individual differences in social behavior and cognition. A burgeoning body of evidence highlights the role of several key genes within the oxytocin signaling pathway linked to sociability, including the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR), CD38, and the structural gene for oxytocin (OXT) (4). Although mounting data strongly support the role of ...

show abstract

“…However, the study of genetic background of breastfeeding in humans is scarce. For example, oxytocin related genes are potential causal factors affecting breastfeeding, and the oxytocin gene SNP (OXT rs2740210) has been shown to moderate the effect of early adversity on duration of breastfeeding (Jonas et al, 2013). In the future, both molecular and quantitative genetic studies on breastfeeding may reveal the genetic variants behind the heritability of breastfeeding behavior.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Breastfeeding Behavior Run in Families? Evidence From Twins, Their Sisters and Their Mothers in the Netherlands

Merjonen

Dolan²,

Bartels³

et al. 2015

Twin Res Hum Genet

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The aim of the present article was to study the prevalence and the heritability of the initiation of breastfeeding in the Netherlands. The study was carried out in 5,581 participants from the Netherlands Twin Register, and included female twins, their sisters and mothers. All of the participants were born between 1911 and 1991. Breastfeeding was self-reported by the participants, and its prevalence was estimated conditional on birth cohort (born before 1955, 1955-1964, 1965-1974, 1975, or later). To estimate the heritability, we conducted extended twin-family modeling using the SEM package OpenMx in R. Mothers of twins had lower prevalence to initiate breastfeeding and the prevalence of initiation of breastfeeding increased with birth cohort: among mothers of twins 66% in the oldest (pre-1955) to 74% in the youngest (post-1974) and among mothers, who were twins themselves or sisters of twins, 79% in the oldest (pre-1955) to 85% in the youngest (post-1974). When accounting for prevalence differences between mothers of twins and other women, heritability of initiation of breastfeeding was 70%. However, the familial resemblance for sister and mother-daughter pairs was clearly lower than for DZ twin pairs, but as the number of non-twin sisters was relatively low, this observation did not lead to a significant contribution of a special shared twin environment.

show abstract

Genetic variation in oxytocin rs2740210 and early adversity associated with postpartum depression and breastfeeding duration

Cited by 97 publications

References 106 publications

Oxytocin pathways in the intergenerational transmission of maternal early life stress

Oxytocin pathways in the intergenerational transmission of maternal early life stress

Epigenetic modification ofOXTand human sociability

Does Breastfeeding Behavior Run in Families? Evidence From Twins, Their Sisters and Their Mothers in the Netherlands

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About