Maternal distress, DNA methylation, and fetal programing of stress physiology in Brazilian mother–infant pairs

Abstract

Maternal prenatal psychosocial stress is associated with adverse hypothalamicpituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA) function among infants. Although the biological mechanisms influencing this process remain unknown, altered DNA methylation is considered to be one potential mechanism. We investigated associations between maternal prenatal psychological distress, infant salivary DNA methylation, and stress physiology at 12 months. Mother's distress was measured via depression and anxiety in early and late pregnancy in a cohort of 80 pregnant adolescents. Maternal hair cortisol was collected during pregnancy. Saliva samples were collected from infants at 12 months to quantify DNA methylation of three stress-related genes (FKBP5, NR3C1, OXTR) (n = 62) and diurnal cortisol (n = 29). Multivariable linear regression was used to test for associations between prenatal psychological distress, and infant DNA methylation and cortisol. Hair cortisol concentrations in late pregnancy were negatively associated with two sites of FKBP5 (site 1:

Current perspectives on perinatal mental health and neurobehavioral development: focus on regulation, coregulation and self-regulation

“…Although in research ‘biomarkers’, often are interpreted as drivers, they may be merely correlates of behavioral problems [48]. More research into underlying processes and drivers across developmental time is needed [49,50 ▪▪ ,51–53,54 ▪▪ ,55–57].…”

Research trend of epigenetics and depression: adolescents' research needs to strengthen

“…Additionally, prenatal depressive symptoms were linked to methylation changes in the glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1), mineralocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C2), and serotonin receptor gene (SLC6A4), exhibiting some gender-specific effects [p = 0.012-0.040, (2)(p) = 0.03-004], with an indirect effect = 0.07, 95% confidence interval [−0.16, −0.02]. Wiley et al discovered that worsening maternal late-pregnancy anxiety was associated with lower methylation levels of the infant OXTR2CpG2, offering the first evidence that oxytocin receptor methylation might contribute to regulation of infant HPAA during the neonatal period (Wiley et al, 2023). Animal experiments have also demonstrated that the methylation status of the NR3C1 gene in offspring is sensitive to prenatal stress, prenatal stress is associated with demethylation of the corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) promoter, leading to anxiety-like behavior during adolescence and heightened reactivity of the HPA axis (Xu et al, 2014;Öztürk et al, 2022).…”

Theoretical Analysis of the Brain and Artificial Intelligence

“…The process of differentiation occurs within the local environment and encompasses the potential for stem cells to migrate to different regions of the brain and differentiate in response to diverse signaling stimuli. Furthermore, the collection of DNA expression information during fetal growth and in later stages of life is imperative for the appropriate differentiation of mirror neurons, as indicated by Wiley et al [7]. The hippocampus' dentate gyrus, the lateral ventricles' subventricular zone, and the olfactory bulb are widely recognized sites for adult stem cells in both rodents and humans.…”