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. 2023 Mar 16:17:1092406.
doi: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1092406. eCollection 2023.

Methylation of BDNF gene in association with episodic memory in women

Ivana Alece Arantes Moreno  1 , Daniela Rodrigues de Oliveira  2   3   4 , Aline Ribeiro Borçoi  1 , Luciana Fungaro Rissatti  3 , Flávia Vitorino Freitas  5 , Lidia Maria Rebolho Batista Arantes  6 , Suzanny Oliveira Mendes  7 , Tamires Dos Santos Vieira  1 , Bárbara Risse Quaioto  1 , Paola Cerbino Doblas  1 , Amanda Sgrancio Olinda  1 , Ester Ribeiro Cunha  1 , Joaquim Gasparini Dos Santos  1 , Júlia Assis Pinheiro  1 , Bruna Pereira Sorroche  6 , Adriana Madeira Alvares da Silva  1   7
Affiliations

Methylation of BDNF gene in association with episodic memory in women

Ivana Alece Arantes Moreno et al. Front Neurosci. .

Abstract

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene regulation plays an important role in long-term memory formation, and the DNA methylation (DNAm) level of BDNF promoters has been associated with episodic memory deficits. Our aim was to explore the association between DNAm levels in BDNF promoter IV with verbal learning and memory performance in healthy women. We conducted a cross-sectional study by recruiting 53 individuals. Episodic memory was assessed by using the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). Clinical interviews, RAVLT, and blood sample collection were assessed in all participants. DNAm was measured on DNA from whole peripheral blood using pyrosequencing. According to generalized linear model (GzLM) analyses, cytosine guanine dinucleotide (CpG) site 5 showed significant associations between learning capacity (LC, p < 0.035), that is, every 1% of DNA methylation at CpG site 5 results in a 0.068 reduction in verbal learning performance. To the best of our knowledge, the current study is the first to show that BDNF DNAm plays an important role in episodic memory.

Keywords: BDNF; DNA methylation; Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT); episodic memory; women.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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