title: DNA methylation at stress-related genes is associated with exposure to early life institutionalization.
abstract: Differences in DNA methylation have been associated with early life adversity, suggesting that alterations in methylation function as one pathway through which adverse early environments are biologically embedded. This study examined associations between exposure to institutional care, quantified as the proportion of time in institutional care at specified follow-up assessment ages, and DNA methylation status in two stress-related genes: FKBP5 and SLC6A4.
  
  
  
  We analyzed data from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, which is a prospective study in which children reared in institutional settings were randomly assigned (mean age 22 months) to either newly created foster care or care as usual (to remain in their current placement) and prospectively followed. A group of children from the same geographic area, with no history of institutionalized caregiving, were also recruited. DNA methylation status was determined in DNA extracted from buccal epithelial cells of children at age 12.
  
  
  
  An inverse association was identified such that more time spent in institutional care was associated with lower DNA methylation at specific CpG sites within both genes.
  
  
  
  These results suggest a lasting impact of early severe social deprivation on methylation patterns in these genes, and contribute to a growing literature linking early adversity and epigenetic variation in children. Am J Phys Anthropol 161:84-93, 2016.. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA.
authors.forename: Amy L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Non
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.
authors.forename: Brittany M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Hollister
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA.
authors.forename: Kathryn L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Humphreys
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.
authors.forename: Ainash
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Childebayeva
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA.
authors.forename: Kyle
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Esteves
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA.
authors.forename: Charles H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Zeanah
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
authors.forename: Nathan A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.affiliation: Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA.|Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA.
authors.forename: Charles A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA.
authors.forename: Stacy S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Drury
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019175:DNA Methylation / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007326:Institutionalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016014:Linear Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000235:genetics*; D022021:Tacrolimus Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D000099159:Tacrolimus Binding Protein 5
chemical_list: D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D022021:Tacrolimus Binding Proteins; D000099159:Tacrolimus Binding Protein 5; C493230:SLC6A4 protein, human
keywords: early life adversity; epigenetics; stress