Association study of the BDNF promoter methylation status with panic disorder / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore whether brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) promoter methylation status is associated with panic disorder(PD), and then assess the effect of the BDNF gene methylation status on the severity of clinical symptoms in PD.Methods:The methylation levels of the BDNF gene were compared between 111 patients with PD and 130 matched healthy controls using MethylTarget approach.In addition, the panic disorder severity scale(PDSS), Hamilton anxiety rating scale(HAM-A), and Hamilton depression rating scale(HAM-D) were respectively assessed to all subjects.Results:(1)The result showed that 7 CpG regions from the promoter regions of the BDNF gene were sequenced.However, there was no statistically significant differences between cases and controls in terms of BDNF DNA methylation status ( OR=1.087, 95% CI=0.849-1.391, P>0.05). (2)Spearman correlation analysis revealed that the hypermethylation of BDNF gene was significantly associated with the severity of the depressive symptoms in PD patients (all P<0.05). The methylation levels of BDNF gene was not significantly related to the severity of anxiety and panic in PD patients(all P>0.05). Conclusion:No association between BDNF promoter methylation status and panic disorder is found in Chinese Han population, but BDNF promoter methylation status may be related to the severity of depressive symptoms in patient with panic disorder.