School of Psychology and Exercise Science, Murdoch University, Australia; School of Medicine, University of Notre Dame, Australia; King Edward Memorial Hospital, Australia.
Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, and Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2018 Apr;90:1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.01.004. Epub 2018 Jan 4.
The aim of this study was to investigate placental DNA methylation of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) in women with depression in pregnancy. We also explored the role of antidepressant medication in pregnancy on placental OXTR methylation. Data were obtained from 239 women in the Mercy Pregnancy and Emotional Wellbeing Study (MPEWS), a selected pregnancy cohort. Current depressive disorders were diagnosed using the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (SCID-IV). Depressive symptoms were measured during the third trimester in pregnancy using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Plasma levels of antidepressant drugs were measured in maternal and cord blood obtained at delivery. OXTR DNA methylation was measured in placenta samples. Depressive symptoms in pregnancy were not associated with significant changes in DNA methylation of OXTR in the placenta. Cord plasma antidepressant levels were more strongly associated than maternal antidepressant dose or circulating blood antidepressant levels with increased DNA methylation of a specific unit within the promotor region of OXTR. This study provides preliminary data to suggest that antidepressant use during pregnancy can alter OXTR methylation in placental tissue. Our findings also indicate that the way exposures are measured in pregnancy can influence the direction and strength of findings. Future studies should investigate whether altered OXTR methylation might mediate the impacts of maternal antidepressant treatment on pregnancy and offspring outcomes.
本研究旨在探讨孕期抑郁症女性胎盘催产素受体基因（OXTR）的 DNA 甲基化情况。我们还探讨了孕期抗抑郁药物治疗对胎盘 OXTR 甲基化的作用。数据来自 Mercy 妊娠和情绪健康研究（MPEWS）中的 239 名女性，这是一个选定的妊娠队列。目前的抑郁障碍使用《精神障碍诊断与统计手册（DSM-5）结构临床访谈》（SCID-IV）进行诊断。在妊娠的第三个三个月期间，使用爱丁堡产后抑郁量表（EPDS）测量抑郁症状。在分娩时获得的母血和脐血中测量抗抑郁药物的血浆水平。在胎盘样本中测量 OXTR 的 DNA 甲基化。妊娠期间的抑郁症状与胎盘 OXTR 中 DNA 甲基化的显著变化无关。与母体抗抑郁药剂量或循环血抗抑郁药水平相比，脐带血浆抗抑郁药水平与 OXTR 启动子区域内特定单元的 DNA 甲基化增加更密切相关。这项研究提供了初步数据，表明孕期使用抗抑郁药可能会改变胎盘组织中 OXTR 的甲基化。我们的研究结果还表明，在孕期测量暴露的方式会影响研究结果的方向和强度。未来的研究应该调查 OXTR 甲基化的改变是否可能介导母亲抗抑郁治疗对妊娠和后代结局的影响。
