Gene Expression Differences Between Young Adults Based on Trauma History and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Autor: Kaitlin E. Bountress, Vladimir Vladimirov, Gowon McMichael, Z. Nathan Taylor, Gary Hardiman, Dongjun Chung, Zachary W. Adams, Carla Kmett Danielson, Ananda B. Amstadter
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Frontiers in Psychiatry, Vol 12 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1664-0640
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.581093
Popis: Background: The purpose of this study was to identify gene expression differences associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma exposure (TE) in a three-group study design comprised of those with and without trauma exposure and PTSD.Methods: We conducted gene expression and gene network analyses in a sample (n = 45) composed of female subjects of European Ancestry (EA) with PTSD, TE without PTSD, and controls.Results: We identified 283 genes differentially expressed between PTSD-TE groups. In an independent sample of Veterans (n = 78) a small minority of these genes were also differentially expressed. We identified 7 gene network modules significantly associated with PTSD and TE (Bonferroni corrected p ≤ 0.05), which at a false discovery rate (FDR) of q ≤ 0.2, were significantly enriched for biological pathways involved in focal adhesion, neuroactive ligand receptor interaction, and immune related processes among others.Conclusions: This study uses gene network analyses to identify significant gene modules associated with PTSD, TE, and controls. On an individual gene level, we identified a large number of differentially expressed genes between PTSD-TE groups, a minority of which were also differentially expressed in the independent sample. We also demonstrate a lack of network module preservation between PTSD and TE, suggesting that the molecular signature of PTSD and trauma are likely independent of each other. Our results provide a basis for the identification of likely disease pathways and biomarkers involved in the etiology of PTSD.
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