Kato Tadafumi
Laboratory for Molecular Dynamics of Mental Disorders, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Wako, Japan.
Neuropsychobiology. 2009;60(1):2-4. doi: 10.1159/000234810. Epub 2009 Aug 14.
It is not known whether and how epigenetic factors contribute to the pathophysiology of mental disorders. As possible mechanisms, epimutations during embryogenesis, epigenetic memory of environmental effects, and the role of epigenetic gene regulation in the action mechanisms of treatment may be considered. To date, detection of DNA methylation differences between twins discordant for mental disorders, and DNA methylation differences in candidate genes in the postmortem brains between patients with mental disorders and control subjects have been reported. More recently, several findings of epigenomic studies using genome-wide DNA methylation analysis have been reported. Further studies using this comprehensive analysis will provide insight into the role of epigenetics in mental disorders.
目前尚不清楚表观遗传因素是否以及如何导致精神障碍的病理生理过程。作为可能的机制，可以考虑胚胎发育过程中的表观突变、环境影响的表观遗传记忆以及表观遗传基因调控在治疗作用机制中的作用。迄今为止，已经报道了对患有精神障碍的双胞胎之间DNA甲基化差异的检测，以及在精神障碍患者与对照受试者的死后大脑中候选基因的DNA甲基化差异。最近，已经报道了几项使用全基因组DNA甲基化分析的表观基因组学研究结果。使用这种综合分析的进一步研究将为表观遗传学在精神障碍中的作用提供深入了解。
