Research Progress on the Correlation Between Epigenetics and Schizophrenia

• Published in: Frontiers in neuroscience Vol. 15; p. 688727
• Main Authors: Chen, Qing, Li, Dan, Jin, Weifeng, Shi, Yun, Li, Zhenhua, Ma, Peijun, Sun, Jiaqi, Chen, Shuzi, Li, Ping, Lin, Ping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Frontiers Research Foundation 21-07-2021; Frontiers Media S.A
• Subjects: Autism; Brain research; Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Diagnosis; Disease; DNA; DNA methylation; Environmental factors; Epigenetics; Gene expression; Gene regulation; histone modification; Histones; Life span; Mental disorders; MicroRNAs; miRNA; Neuroscience; Non-coding RNA; Patients; Peripheral blood; Psychotropic drugs; Quality of life; Schizophrenia; Transfer RNA
• ISSN: 1662-453X; 1662-4548; 1662-453X
• DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.688727

Purpose of the Review
Nowadays, the incidence of schizophrenia is noticeably increased. If left undiagnosed and untreated, it will lead to impaired social functions, repeated hospital admissions, decline in quality of life and life expectancy. However, the diagnosis of schizophrenia is complicated and challenging. Both genetic and environmental factors are considered as important contributors to the development and progression of this disorder. The environmental factors have been linked to changes in gene expression through epigenetic modulations, which have raised more and more research interests in recent years. This review article is to summarize the current findings and understanding of epigenetic modulation associated with pathogenesis of schizophrenia, aiming to provide useful information for further research in developing biomarkers for schizophrenia.
Recent Findings
Three major types of epigenetic modulations have been described in this article. Firstly, both DNA hypermethylation and hypomethylated have been associated with schizophrenia via analyzing post-mortem brain tissues and peripheral blood of patients. Specific changes of non-coding RNAs, particularly microRNAs and long-chain non-coding RNAs, have been observed in central and peripheral samples of schizophrenia patients, indicating their significant diagnostic value for the disease, and may also potentially predict treatment response. The correlation between histone modification and schizophrenia, however, is largely unclear.
Summary
Epigenetic modulations, including DNA methylation, ncRNA transcriptional regulation and histone modification, play an important role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Therefore, tests of these epigenetic alterations may be utilized to assist in the diagnosis and determination of strategies of individualized treatment in clinical practice.