The Microbiome in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma-Exposed Controls: An Exploratory Study.

Objective: Inadequate immunoregulation and elevated inflammation may be risk factors for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and microbial inputs are important determinants of immunoregulation; however, the association between the gut microbiota and PTSD is unknown. This study investigated the gut microbiome in a South African sample of PTSD-affected individuals and trauma-exposed (TE) controls to identify potential differences in microbial diversity or microbial community structure.

Methods: The Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 was used to diagnose PTSD according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition criteria.

Differential analysis of genome-wide methylation and gene expression in mesenchymal stem cells of patients with fractures and osteoarthritis.

Insufficient activity of the bone-forming osteoblasts leads to low bone mass and predisposes to fragility fractures. The functional capacity of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), the precursors of osteoblasts, may be compromised in elderly individuals, in relation with the epigenetic changes associated with aging. However, the role of hMSCs in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis is still unclear.

Strategies for validation and testing of DNA methylation biomarkers.

DNA methylation is a stable covalent epigenetic modification of primarily CpG dinucleotides that has recently gained considerable attention for its use as a biomarker in different clinical settings, including disease diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic response prediction. Although the advent of genome-wide DNA methylation profiling in primary disease tissue has provided a manifold resource for biomarker development, only a tiny fraction of DNA methylation-based assays have reached clinical testing. Here, we provide a critical overview of different analytical methods that are suitable for biomarker validation, including general study design considerations, which might help to streamline epigenetic marker development.

Global DNA methylation analysis of human atherosclerotic plaques reveals extensive genomic hypomethylation and reactivation at imprinted locus 14q32 involving induction of a miRNA cluster.

Aims: We conducted a genome-wide analysis to identify differentially methylated genes in atherosclerotic lesions.

Methods: DNA methylation at promoters, exons and introns was identified by massive parallel sequencing. Gene expression was analysed by microarrays, qPCR, immunohistochemistry and western blots.