Karla-Gerlinde Schraut
Dr. Karla-Gerlinde Schraut
Associated member: July 2011 - June 2014
Dissertation title:
Effects of prenatal stress on the epigenetic programming in mice deficient for the serotonin transporter
Abstract: Mood disorders are thought to have a multi-causal origin and it has been suggested, that their pathogeneses involve an interaction between genetic and environmental factors. Early life stress is such an environmental factor, since it can alter stress susceptibility and influence the risk for psychiatric disorders in adulthood. Prenatal stress (PS) for example is associated with an increased risk for developing an anxiety disorder or depression later in life. A polymorphism in the gene encoding the human serotonin transporter (5-HTT), the lynchpin of central serotonergic transmission, has been linked to anxiety- and depression-related personality traits and it may modulate the influence of early life stress on the risk of developing mood disorders. The molecular mechanisms by which this gene x environment (GxE) interaction is conferred are unknown, recent findings, however, point to epigenetic modifications as possible key mechanisms by which a GxE interaction exerts its influence on gene expression. In our study, we use a 5-Htt x PS paradigm to investigate whether the effects of PS are dependent on the 5-Htt genotype and if those effects are mediated by epigenetic mechanism, e.g. DNA methylation or histone modifications.
Principal investigator:
Current position:
Max-Planck-Insitut für Psychiarie
München
