Smoking, but not malnutrition, influences promoter-specific DNA methylation of the proopiomelanocortin gene in patients with and without anorexia nervosa.

Objective: Our pilot study evaluates the impact of environmental factors, such as nutrition and smoking status, on epigenetic patterns in a disease-associated gene.

Method: We measured the effects of malnutrition and cigarette smoking on proopiomelanocortin (POMC) promoter-specific DNA methylation in female patients with and without anorexia nervosa (AN). POMC and its derived peptides (alpha melanocyte stimulating hormone and adrenocorticotropic hormone) are implicated in stress and feeding response.