Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Jan 2;95(1-2):692-702.
doi: 10.1002/jnr.23876.

Understanding the epigenetic basis of sex differences in depression

Georgia E Hodes  1 , Deena M Walker  1 , Benoit Labonté  1 , Eric J Nestler  1 , Scott J Russo  1
Affiliations
Review

Understanding the epigenetic basis of sex differences in depression

Georgia E Hodes et al. J Neurosci Res. .

Abstract

Epigenetics refers to potentially heritable processes that can mediate both lasting and transient changes in gene expression in the absence of genome sequence alterations. The field of epigenetics has introduced a novel understanding of the mechanisms through which the environment can shape an individual and potentially its offspring. This Mini-Review examines the current literature exploring the role of epigenetics in the development of mood disorders such as depression. Depression is twofold more common in females, yet the majority of preclinical research has been conducted exclusively in male subjects. Here we discuss what is known about sex differences in epigenetic regulation and function and how this may contribute to the etiology and onset of mood disorders. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Keywords: depression; epigenetics; sex differences; stress.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Removing DNMT3a from the NAc of adult females shifts them to a more male-like transcriptional pattern. A. Comparison of overlap of gene expression in males and females exposed to 6 day VS with male and DNMT3a KO females. Removing DNMT3A in females led to a 2 fold greater overlap in up regulation of gene expression with males and a 3 fold greater overlap in down regulation of gene expression. B. Top ten gene pathways altered by 6 day VS in females compared to males and DNMT3a KO females. Seven out of 10 pathways in females exposed to VS were altered to resemble males by removal of DNMT3a. Adapted from (Hodes et al. 2015) Journal of Neuroscience.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abdolmaleky HM, Cheng KH, Faraone SV, Wilcox M, Glatt SJ, Gao F, Smith CL, Shafa R, Aeali B, Carnevale J, Pan H, Papageorgis P, Ponte JF, Sivaraman V, Tsuang MT, Thiagalingam S. Hypomethylation of MB-COMT promoter is a major risk factor for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Hum Mol Genet. 2006;15(21):3132–3145. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Abdolmaleky HM, Smith CL, Zhou JR, Thiagalingam S. Epigenetic alterations of the dopaminergic system in major psychiatric disorders. Methods Mol Biol. 2008;448(187):212. - PubMed
    1. Abdolmaleky HM, Yaqubi S, Papageorgis P, Lambert AW, Ozturk S, Sivaraman V, Thiagalingam S. Epigenetic dysregulation of HTR2A in the brain of patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Schizophr Res. 2011;129(2-3):183–190. - PubMed
    1. Anway MD, Cupp AS, Uzumcu M, Skinner MK. Epigenetic transgenerational actions of endocrine disruptors and male fertility. Science. 2005;308(5727):1466–1469. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Armenti AE, Zama AM, Passantino L, Uzumcu M. Developmental methoxychlor exposure affects multiple reproductive parameters and ovarian folliculogenesis and gene expression in adult rats. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2008;233(2):286–296. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types