Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas de Barcelona IIBB-CSIC-IDIBAPS, c/Rosselló 161, 6th floor, E-08036 Barcelona, Spain.
Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona, Joan XXIII s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2014 Feb;40:96-107. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.11.004. Epub 2013 Nov 15.
A growing body of research shows that mindfulness meditation can alter neural, behavioral and biochemical processes. However, the mechanisms responsible for such clinically relevant effects remain elusive.
Here we explored the impact of a day of intensive practice of mindfulness meditation in experienced subjects (n=19) on the expression of circadian, chromatin modulatory and inflammatory genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). In parallel, we analyzed a control group of subjects with no meditation experience who engaged in leisure activities in the same environment (n=21). PBMC from all participants were obtained before (t1) and after (t2) the intervention (t2-t1=8h) and gene expression was analyzed using custom pathway focused quantitative-real time PCR assays. Both groups were also presented with the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST).
Core clock gene expression at baseline (t1) was similar between groups and their rhythmicity was not influenced in meditators by the intensive day of practice. Similarly, we found that all the epigenetic regulatory enzymes and inflammatory genes analyzed exhibited similar basal expression levels in the two groups. In contrast, after the brief intervention we detected reduced expression of histone deacetylase genes (HDAC 2, 3 and 9), alterations in global modification of histones (H4ac; H3K4me3) and decreased expression of pro-inflammatory genes (RIPK2 and COX2) in meditators compared with controls. We found that the expression of RIPK2 and HDAC2 genes was associated with a faster cortisol recovery to the TSST in both groups.
The regulation of HDACs and inflammatory pathways may represent some of the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic potential of mindfulness-based interventions. Our findings set the foundation for future studies to further assess meditation strategies for the treatment of chronic inflammatory conditions.
越来越多的研究表明，正念冥想可以改变神经、行为和生化过程。然而，负责这种临床相关效应的机制仍难以捉摸。
在这里，我们探讨了在有经验的受试者（n=19）中进行一天的正念冥想强化练习对周围血单核细胞（PBMC）中昼夜节律、染色质调节和炎症基因表达的影响。同时，我们分析了一组没有冥想经验的对照组受试者，他们在相同环境中从事休闲活动（n=21）。所有参与者的 PBMC 均在干预前（t1）和干预后（t2）获得（t2-t1=8h），并使用定制的通路聚焦定量实时 PCR 检测进行基因表达分析。两组受试者还接受了特里尔社会压力测试（TSST）。
基线（t1）时核心时钟基因的表达在两组之间相似，并且强化练习日并没有影响到冥想者的节律性。同样，我们发现，我们分析的所有表观遗传调节酶和炎症基因在两组中的基础表达水平相似。相比之下，在短暂的干预后，我们发现与对照组相比，冥想者的组蛋白去乙酰化酶基因（HDAC2、3 和 9）表达降低，组蛋白整体修饰（H4ac；H3K4me3）改变，促炎基因（RIPK2 和 COX2）表达降低。我们发现，两组中 RIPK2 和 HDAC2 基因的表达与皮质醇对 TSST 的恢复更快有关。
HDAC 和炎症途径的调节可能是正念冥想干预治疗潜力的部分机制。我们的研究结果为进一步评估冥想策略治疗慢性炎症疾病的未来研究奠定了基础。
