Analysis of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Gene Expression Profiles in a Prospective, Community-Based Cohort

Document Type

Article

Authors

Jan Dahrendorff, Genomics Program, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USAFollow
Agaz Wani, Genomics Program, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USAFollow
Thomas Keller, Genomics Program, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USAFollow
Don Armstrong, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USAFollow
Annie Qu, Department of Statistics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USAFollow
Derek E. Wildman, Genomics Program, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USAFollow
Maria Carmen Valero, Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USAFollow
Karestan C. Koenen, Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USAFollow
Allison E. Aiello, Robert N Butler Columbia Aging Center, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NYFollow
Monica Uddin, Genomics Program, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USAFollow

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common and debilitating psychiatric disorder that may occur in individuals exposed to traumatic events such as accidents, interpersonal violence, war, combat, or natural disasters. Additionally, PTSD has been implicated in the development of a variety of chronic conditions, including cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, suggesting the biological alterations associated with the disorder can manifest as chronic diseases in those suffering from PTSD. The biological underpinnings of the disorder are not well understood. Gene expression studies can illuminate the complex physiology of PTSD reflecting the embodiment of trauma, that is, the process in which traumatic experiences in our social environments could potentially manifest in our body by genomic mechanisms. To date, gene expression studies that examine the whole transcriptome are scarce and limited to single-time-point assessments. Here we applied a transcriptome-wide gene expression screen with RNA-seq to whole blood samples from predominantly African American community-dwelling participants to elucidate the gene expression signatures associated with the development of PTSD. The study participants (N = 72) comprised a trauma-exposed subsample of participants enrolled in a longitudinal, prospective cohort study of adults living in Detroit, Michigan. PTSD was assessed in a structured telephone interview, and whole blood samples were taken both before and after trauma exposure. Among the 72 study participants, 10 had PTSD at baseline and 21 developed it during the study. We found 45 differentially expressed genes associated with PTSD development with an estimated log2-fold change > 1.5 at a nominal p-value of <0.05. Six genes (PAX6, TSPAN7, PXDN, VWC2, SULF1, and NFATC4) were also ubiquitously expressed in all brain regions. Longitudinal sampling provides a promising mean to elucidate the pathophysiology underlying the embodiment of trauma.

Recommended Citation

Dahrendorff, Jan; Wani, Agaz; Keller, Thomas; Armstrong, Don; Qu, Annie; Wildman, Derek E.; Valero, Maria Carmen; Koenen, Karestan C.; Aiello, Allison E.; and Uddin, Monica (2023) "Analysis of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Gene Expression Profiles in a Prospective, Community-Based Cohort," Human Biology: Vol. 95: Iss. 1, Article 4.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol/vol95/iss1/4