title: The role of DNA methylation in the pathophysiology and treatment of bipolar disorder.
abstract: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a multifactorial illness thought to result from an interaction between genetic susceptibility and environmental stimuli. Epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, can modulate gene expression in response to the environment, and therefore might account for part of the heritability reported for BD. This paper aims to review evidence of the potential role of DNA methylation in the pathophysiology and treatment of BD. In summary, several studies suggest that alterations in DNA methylation may play an important role in the dysregulation of gene expression in BD, and some actually suggest their potential use as biomarkers to improve diagnosis, prognosis, and assessment of response to treatment. This is also supported by reports of alterations in the levels of DNA methyltransferases in patients and in the mechanism of action of classical mood stabilizers. In this sense, targeting specific alterations in DNA methylation represents exciting new treatment possibilities for BD, and the 'plastic' characteristic of DNA methylation accounts for a promising possibility of restoring environment-induced modifications in patients.
authors.affiliation: Translational Psychiatry Program, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), 1941 East Rd, 77054, Houston, TX, USA. Electronic address: Gabriel.R.Fries@uth.tmc.edu.
authors.forename: Gabriel R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Fries
authors.affiliation: Translational Psychiatry Program, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), 1941 East Rd, 77054, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Qiongzhen
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Translational Psychiatry Program, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), 1941 East Rd, 77054, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Blake
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: McAlpin
authors.affiliation: Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Kraepelinstraße 2-10, 80804, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Theo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rein
authors.affiliation: Translational Psychiatry Program, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), 1941 East Rd, 77054, Houston, TX, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Consuelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Walss-Bass
authors.affiliation: Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Jair C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.affiliation: Translational Psychiatry Program, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), 1941 East Rd, 77054, Houston, TX, USA; Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Houston, TX, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston, Houston, TX, USA; Laboratory of Neurosciences, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Health Sciences Unit, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciúma, SC, Brazil.
authors.forename: Joao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Quevedo
mesh_terms: D001714:Bipolar Disorder; D019175:DNA Methylation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D015870:Gene Expression; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans
keywords: Bipolar disorder; DNA methylation; DNA methyltransferase; Depression; Epigenetics; Mood disorders; Mood stabilizers