TY - JOUR
T1 - Epigenetic patterns associated with the immune dysregulation that accompanies psychosocial distress
AU - Mathews, Herbert L.
AU - Konley, Teresa
AU - Kosik, Kelly Loster
AU - Krukowski, Karen
AU - Eddy, Justin
AU - Albuquerque, Kevin
AU - Janusek, Linda Witek
N1 - Funding Information:
The study was supported in part by the National Cancer Institute R21-CA–117261 , R01-CA-134736 and the Research Committee of the Council, Stritch School of Medicine . The authors gratefully acknowledge the expertise of Patricia Simms Loyola University Health Systems Flow Cytometry Facility and the assistance of Valerie Bednar, RN, MSN and Jennie Johnson, RN for recruitment of subjects and collection of clinical and psychological data. Importantly, the authors express sincere gratitude to those women with breast cancer who volunteered to participate in this study.
PY - 2011/7
Y1 - 2011/7
N2 - The molecular basis for psychosocial-distress mediated immune-dysregulation is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to determine whether peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) epigenetic pattern associates with this form of immune dysregulation. Women newly diagnosed with early stage breast cancer were enrolled into the study and psychosocial, immunological and epigenetic assessments were made at diagnosis and four months later, after completion of cancer treatment. At diagnosis women reported increased perceived stress, anxiety, and mood disturbance and the PBMC of these women exhibited reduced natural killer cell activity and reduced production of interferon gamma, which contrasted with results, obtained after completion of treatment. At the epigenetic level, a PBMC subset derived from women at diagnosis exhibited a distinct epigenetic pattern, with reduced nuclear acetylation of histone residues H4-K8 and H4-K12, as well as reduced phosphorylation of H3-S10, when compared to similar cells derived after the completion of treatment. Natural killer cell activity and interferon-gamma production were associated with nuclear acetylation and phosphorylation status of these histone residues. These findings demonstrate associations among nuclear epigenetic pattern and the immune dysregulation that accompanies psychosocial distress.
AB - The molecular basis for psychosocial-distress mediated immune-dysregulation is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to determine whether peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) epigenetic pattern associates with this form of immune dysregulation. Women newly diagnosed with early stage breast cancer were enrolled into the study and psychosocial, immunological and epigenetic assessments were made at diagnosis and four months later, after completion of cancer treatment. At diagnosis women reported increased perceived stress, anxiety, and mood disturbance and the PBMC of these women exhibited reduced natural killer cell activity and reduced production of interferon gamma, which contrasted with results, obtained after completion of treatment. At the epigenetic level, a PBMC subset derived from women at diagnosis exhibited a distinct epigenetic pattern, with reduced nuclear acetylation of histone residues H4-K8 and H4-K12, as well as reduced phosphorylation of H3-S10, when compared to similar cells derived after the completion of treatment. Natural killer cell activity and interferon-gamma production were associated with nuclear acetylation and phosphorylation status of these histone residues. These findings demonstrate associations among nuclear epigenetic pattern and the immune dysregulation that accompanies psychosocial distress.
KW - Epigenetic
KW - Histone acetylation and phosphorylation
KW - Interferon gamma
KW - NK cell activity
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U2 - 10.1016/j.bbi.2010.12.002
DO - 10.1016/j.bbi.2010.12.002
M3 - Article
C2 - 21146603
AN - SCOPUS:79957922071
SN - 0889-1591
VL - 25
SP - 830
EP - 839
JO - Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
JF - Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
IS - 5
ER -