Epigenetic modifications in anorexia nervosa patients and remitters compared to healthy control women

Abstract

Introduction

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is the most severe in terms of morbidity psychiatric illness with the highest mortality rate increased by 23 fold. Treatments are limited effectiveness. AN has a strong genetic component with heritability at 70% but despite ∼ 200 studies no major gene was identified. Epigenetics, such as DNA methylation, is another component of heritability that could explain the high heritability. Methylation is poorly studied in AN from small samples, and is focused on few candidate genes among publications. Under publication, a first genome-wide methylation study investigated 10 restrictive type AN patients, 19 binging/purging type of AN patients and 15 normal eaters using DNAs from whole blood (Booij, 2015). Of the 480K CpG sites that can be methylated of Infinium Human Methylation450 BeadChip Kit, authors focused on 24,000 sites located close to genes and they identified candidate genes with a different profile of methylation between AN and controls.

Objectives

Our work is to replicate the results of Booji and also to investigate the AN remitters.

Aims

Our goal is to identify epigenetic signatures of the AN disorder and the prognostic of remission.

Methods

Twenty-four AN patients, 24 AN remitters will be compared to 48 healthy control women for methylation using the Infinium Human Methylation450.

Results

As Booji et al., we will compare methylation for 24,000 sites located close to genes for 24 AN, 24 remitters and 48 controls.

Conclusions

We expected to replicate the published results of Booji and to identify genes with a methylation signature specific of the AN remission.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.