title: Birth weight, working memory and epigenetic signatures in IGF2 and related genes: a MZ twin study.
abstract: Neurodevelopmental disruptions caused by obstetric complications play a role in the etiology of several phenotypes associated with neuropsychiatric diseases and cognitive dysfunctions. Importantly, it has been noticed that epigenetic processes occurring early in life may mediate these associations. Here, DNA methylation signatures at IGF2 (insulin-like growth factor 2) and IGF2BP1-3 (IGF2-binding proteins 1-3) were examined in a sample consisting of 34 adult monozygotic (MZ) twins informative for obstetric complications and cognitive performance. Multivariate linear regression analysis of twin data was implemented to test for associations between methylation levels and both birth weight (BW) and adult working memory (WM) performance. Familial and unique environmental factors underlying these potential relationships were evaluated. A link was detected between DNA methylation levels of two CpG sites in the IGF2BP1 gene and both BW and adult WM performance. The BW-IGF2BP1 methylation association seemed due to non-shared environmental factors influencing BW, whereas the WM-IGF2BP1 methylation relationship seemed mediated by both genes and environment. Our data is in agreement with previous evidence indicating that DNA methylation status may be related to prenatal stress and later neurocognitive phenotypes. While former reports independently detected associations between DNA methylation and either BW or WM, current results suggest that these relationships are not confounded by each other.
authors.affiliation: Unitat d'Antropologia, Departament de Biologia Animal, Facultat de Biologia and Institut de Biomedicina (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Córdova-Palomera
authors.affiliation: Unitat d'Antropologia, Departament de Biologia Animal, Facultat de Biologia and Institut de Biomedicina (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alemany
authors.affiliation: Unitat d'Antropologia, Departament de Biologia Animal, Facultat de Biologia and Institut de Biomedicina (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Mar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fatjó-Vilas
authors.affiliation: Unitat d'Antropologia, Departament de Biologia Animal, Facultat de Biologia and Institut de Biomedicina (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Ximena
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Goldberg
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain, and Instituto de Investigación Hospital 12 de Octubre (I+12), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Leza
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Psychiatry Service, Santiago Apóstol Hospital, EMBREC, EHU/UPV University of the Basque Country, Vitoria, Spain.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: González-Pinto
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nenadic
authors.affiliation: Unitat d'Antropologia, Departament de Biologia Animal, Facultat de Biologia and Institut de Biomedicina (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fañanás
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight; D019175:DNA Methylation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007335:Insulin-Like Growth Factor II / Q000235:genetics*; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D009030:Mosaicism; D011247:Pregnancy; D013269:Stochastic Processes; D014430:Twins, Monozygotic / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C035170:IGF2 protein, human; D007335:Insulin-Like Growth Factor II