Prenatal exposure to maternal depressed mood and the MTHFR C677T variant affect SLC6A4 methylation in infants at birth

• Published in: PloS one 2010-08, Vol.5 (8), p.e12201
• Main Authors: Devlin, Angela M, Brain, Ursula, Austin, Jehannine, Oberlander, Tim F
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Alcohol; Antidepressants; Base Sequence; Brain; Brain research; Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor - genetics; Children; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Depression; DNA; DNA Methylation; Enzymes; Epigenetic inheritance; Epigenetics; Exposure; Female; Folic acid; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genetics and Genomics/Epigenetics; Genotype; Homocysteine; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infants; Leukocytes; Male; Maternal behavior; Maternal Exposure; Mental depression; Methylation; Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase; Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2) - genetics; Mood; Mothers; Mutation; Newborn babies; Newborn infants; Obstetrics/Pregnancy; Parturition; Pediatrics; Pediatrics and Child Health/Child Development; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Postpartum depression; Pregnancy; Pregnant women; Prenatal experience; Prenatal exposure; Promoter Regions, Genetic - genetics; Psychiatry; Serotonin; Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins - genetics; Serotonin transporter; Studies; Umbilical cord; Vitamin B; Women
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012201

Prenatal and early postnatal exposure to maternal depression may "program" childhood behavior via epigenetic processes such as DNA methylation. Methylenetetrahydro-folate reductase (MTHFR) is an important enzyme in the generation of methyl groups for DNA methylation. The common MTHFR C677T variant is associated with depression in men and non-pregnant women, and with global changes in DNA methylation. This study investigated the effect of maternal MTHFR C677T genotype on antenatal maternal mood, and their impact on the gene-specific methylation in pregnant women and their newborn infants. The methylation status of SLC6A4, which encodes the transmembrane serotonin transporter, and BDNF, which encodes brain derived neurotrophic factor, were assessed because of their potential role in behaviour. Depressed mood was assessed by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) in women (n = 82, all taking folate) during the 2(nd) and 3(rd) trimesters of pregnancy. The methylation status of SLC6A4 and BDNF were assessed in 3rd trimester maternal peripheral leukocytes and in umbilical cord leukocytes collected from their infants at birth. Women with the MTHFR 677TT genotype had greater 2(nd) trimester depressed mood (p