Yanagimachi Institute for Biogenesis Research, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, 651 Ilalo Street, Biomed Sciences Building, Honolulu, HI, 96813, USA.
Leidos, Inc., 10260 Campus Point Drive, San Diego, CA, 92121, USA.
Sci Rep. 2024 Nov 6;14(1):27013. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-78033-x.
In military populations, gene-environment interactions can influence performance and health outcomes. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a central nervous system protein that is important for neuronal function and synaptic plasticity. A BDNF single nucleotide polymorphism, rs6265, leads to an amino acid substitution of valine (Val) with methionine (Met) at codon 66 (Val66Met), which may influence an individual's response to occupational stress, and predispose military members to psychological disorders. Telomere length (TL), a novel measure of biological aging, can be used as a biomarker of stress. Accordingly, telomere shortening may be a surrogate indicator of physiological weathering due to chronic disease and stressful life events. To increase our understanding about the potential effect of the Val66Met mutation on the human stress response, we evaluated the relationships between Val66Met, TL, and mental health symptoms in a military population. In this pilot study (N = 164), we observed an association between Val66Met and reduced TL (p = 0.048). There was no relationship between Val66Met and mental health symptoms. These results support the investigation of gene-environment interactions, and their potential influence on TL due to occupational stress such as military service.
在军事人群中，基因-环境相互作用会影响表现和健康结果。脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）是一种对神经元功能和突触可塑性很重要的中枢神经系统蛋白。BDNF 的一个单核苷酸多态性，rs6265，导致密码子 66 处的缬氨酸（Val）被蛋氨酸（Met）取代（Val66Met），这可能会影响个体对职业压力的反应，并使军人易患心理障碍。端粒长度（TL），一种新的生物老化测量方法，可以用作压力的生物标志物。因此，端粒缩短可能是由于慢性疾病和生活压力事件导致生理风化的替代指标。为了更多地了解 Val66Met 突变对人类应激反应的潜在影响，我们在军人人群中评估了 Val66Met、TL 和心理健康症状之间的关系。在这项初步研究（N=164）中，我们观察到 Val66Met 与 TL 缩短之间存在关联（p=0.048）。Val66Met 与心理健康症状之间没有关系。这些结果支持对基因-环境相互作用及其对由于军事服务等职业压力导致的 TL 的潜在影响的研究。
