Epigenome-Wide Association Study of Tic Disorders.
Tic disorders are moderately heritable common psychiatric disorders that can be highly troubling, both in childhood and in adulthood. In this study, we report results obtained in the first epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) of tic disorders. The subjects are participants in surveys at the Netherlands Twin Register (NTR) and the NTR biobank project. Tic disorders were measured with a self-report version of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale Abbreviated version (YGTSS-ABBR), included in the 8th wave NTR data collection (2008). DNA methylation data consisted of 411,169 autosomal methylation sites assessed by the Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip Kit (HM450k array). Phenotype and DNA methylation data were available in 1,678 subjects (mean age = 41.5). No probes reached genome-wide significance (p < 1.2 × 10(-7)). The strongest associated probe was cg15583738, located in an intergenic region on chromosome 8 (p = 1.98 × 10(-6)). Several of the top ranking probes (p < 1 × 10(-4)) were in or nearby genes previously associated with neurological disorders (e.g., GABBRI, BLM, and ADAM10), warranting their further investigation in relation to tic disorders. The top significantly enriched gene ontology (GO) terms among higher ranking methylation sites included anatomical structure morphogenesis (GO:0009653, p = 4.6 × 10-(15)) developmental process (GO:0032502, p = 2.96 × 10(-12)), and cellular developmental process (GO:0048869, p = 1.96 × 10(-12)). Overall, these results provide a first insight into the epigenetic mechanisms of tic disorders. This first study assesses the role of DNA methylation in tic disorders, and it lays the foundations for future work aiming to unravel the biological mechanisms underlying the architecture of this disorder.
Department of Biological Psychology,VU University Amsterdam,Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam,Amsterdam,the Netherlands.
Nuno R
NR
Zilhão
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics,Democritus University of Thrace,Alexandroupolis,Greece.
Shanmukha S
SS
Padmanabhuni
Institute of Medical Chemistry,Molecular Biology and Pathobiochemistry,Semmelweis University,Budapest,Hungary.
Luca
L
Pagliaroli
Institute of Medical Chemistry,Molecular Biology and Pathobiochemistry,Semmelweis University,Budapest,Hungary.
Csaba
C
Barta
Department of Clinical and Health Psychology,Utrecht University,Utrecht,the Netherlands.
Dirk J A
DJ
Smit
Department of Clinical and Health Psychology,Utrecht University,Utrecht,the Netherlands.
Danielle
D
Cath
Department of Biological Psychology,VU University Amsterdam,Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam,Amsterdam,the Netherlands.
Michel G
MG
Nivard
Department of Biological Psychology,VU University Amsterdam,Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam,Amsterdam,the Netherlands.
Bart M L
BM
Baselmans
Department of Biological Psychology,VU University Amsterdam,Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam,Amsterdam,the Netherlands.
Jenny
J
van Dongen
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics,Democritus University of Thrace,Alexandroupolis,Greece.
Peristera
P
Paschou
Department of Biological Psychology,VU University Amsterdam,Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam,Amsterdam,the Netherlands.
Dorret I
DI
Boomsma
D000328:Adult; D004200:Diseases in Twins / Q000235:genetics*; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005260:Female; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D012042:Registries; D013981:Tic Disorders / Q000235:genetics*
DNA methylation; EWAS; Tourette syndrome; epigenetics; tics