title: Inflammation in adult women with a history of child maltreatment: The involvement of mitochondrial alterations and oxidative stress.
abstract: The experience of maltreatment during childhood is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation in adulthood. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this pro-inflammatory phenotype remain unclear. Mitochondria were recently found to principally coordinate inflammatory processes via both inflammasome activation and inflammasome-independent pathways. To this end, we hypothesized that alterations in immune cell mitochondrial functioning and oxidative stress might be at the interface between the association of maltreatment experiences during childhood and inflammation. We analyzed pro-inflammatory biomarkers (levels of C-reactive protein, cytokine secretion by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in vitro, PBMC composition, lysophosphatidylcholine levels), serum oxidative stress levels (arginine:citrulline ratio, l-carnitine and acetylcarnitine levels) and mitochondrial functioning (respiratory activity and density of mitochondria in PBMC) in peripheral blood samples collected from 30 women (aged 22-44years) with varying degrees of maltreatment experiences in form of abuse and neglect during childhood. Exposure to maltreatment during childhood was associated with an increased ROS production, higher levels of oxidative stress and an increased mitochondrial activity in a dose-response relationship. Moreover, the increase in mitochondrial activity and ROS production were positively associated with the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines by PBMC. Decreased serum levels of lysophosphatidylcholines suggested higher inflammasome activation with increasing severity of child maltreatment experiences. Together these findings offer preliminary evidence for the association of alterations in immune cell mitochondrial functioning, oxidative stress and the pro-inflammatory phenotype observed in individuals with a history of maltreatment during childhood. The results emphasize that the early prevention of child abuse and neglect warrants more attention, as the experience of maltreatment during childhood might have life-long consequences for physical health.
authors.affiliation: Clinical & Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 47, 89081 Ulm, Germany. Electronic address: christina.boeck@uni-ulm.de.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boeck
authors.affiliation: Clinical & Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 47, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexandra Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Koenig
authors.affiliation: Clinical & Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 47, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schury
authors.affiliation: Clinical & Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 47, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Martha Leonie
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Geiger
authors.affiliation: Clinical & Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 47, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karabatsiakis
authors.affiliation: Clinical & Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 47, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wilker
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 23, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Christiane
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Waller
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 23, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gündel
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Ulm, Steinhoevelstrasse 5, 89075 Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Jörg Michael
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Fegert
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anesthesiological Pathophysiology and Process Engineering, University Hospital Ulm, Helmholtzstrasse 8/1, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Calzia
authors.affiliation: Clinical & Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 47, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Iris-Tatjana
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Kolassa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007249:Inflammation / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D010865:Pilot Projects; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D016207:Cytokines; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species
keywords: Child maltreatment; Inflammation; Metabolomics; Mitochondria; Oxidative stress; Stress