Epigenetic dysregulation of HTR2A in the brain of patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

PlacentalHTR2Amethylation is associated with infant neurobehavioral outcomes

“…[22][23][24][25] In this study, we demonstrated that there is variability in the extent of DNA methylation of the promoter region for the HTR2A gene, which is associated with alterations in gene expression. 19 This receptor has been noted to serve a mitogenic role in placental cells, and there may be additional physiologic roles for this receptor and general serotonergic tone within the placenta during development, particularly when this tissue acts as a source of serotonin. This study provides evidence from a human population study that links DNA methylation at this promoter and infant neurobehavior, and provides impetus for further analysis to elucidate the mechanism of placental HTR2A gene expression within the placenta and its role in neurodevelopment.…”

“…Aberrations in HTR2A promoter methylation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells are associated with chronic fatigue syndrome, 18 and in post mortem brain samples, HTR2A methylation, which was associated with decreased expression, was higher in schizophrenic patients compared with controls. 19 However, no existing study has analyzed methylation of the promoter region of HTR2A in placental tissue or explored the role of DNA methylation in this region in relation to fetal development or newborn neurobehavior. The objective of this study was to analyze the DNA methylation status of the HTR2A promoter region in placental samples from infants involved in an ongoing birth cohort study and to determine the relationship between factors in the fetal environment, methylation and infant neurodevelopment quantified with the validated NICU network neurobehavioral scales (NNNS).…”

Increased DNA methylation of neuropsychiatric genes occurs in borderline personality disorder

“…Some genes (GABRA1, HTR2A, NR3C1, NOS1, soluble COMT ) were selected because an epigenetic deregulation has been reported in schizophrenia or depressive disorders. [48][49][50][51][52][53]55 The epigenetic regulation of these neuropsychiatric genes in borderline personality disorder has not been investigated previously. Our data indicate that the average methylation levels for five quantified regions (HTR2A, NR3C1, MAOA, MAOB and S-COMT ) were significantly higher in the blood obtained from BPD patients compared with controls (Fig.…”

“…51,52 Recently, epigenetic alterations for HTR2A were reported in brains of patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. 53 For borderline personality disorder the epigenetic regulation of disease-associated genes has not been investigated so far.…”

Research Highlights: Epigenetic changes to serotonin receptor gene expression in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

“…Polymorphisms in the genes encoding these receptors are considered good candidates for mediating susceptibility to psychosis, and they have been widely studied in genetic association studies [4]. Recently, increasing emphasis has been placed on the potential role of epigenetic dysfunction in the etiology of psychosis [5,6], and converging evidence suggests that epigenetic factors are important in the regulation of serotonin receptor gene expression [7][8][9].…”