Cited by 207Epigenetics and DNA MethylationBullying, Victimization, and AggressionChild Abuse and Trauma

Increased serotonin transporter gene ( SERT ) DNA methylation is associated with bullying victimization and blunted cortisol response to stress in childhood: a longitudinal study of discordant monozygotic twins

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Ouellet-Morin, I., Wong, C. C. Y., Danese, A., Pariante, C. M., Papadopoulos, A. S., Mill, J., Arseneault, L.·2013·Psychological Medicine

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Childhood adverse experiences are known to induce persistent changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity to stress. However, the mechanisms by which these experiences shape the neuroendocrine response to stress remain unclear. Method We tested whether bullying victimization influenced serotonin transporter gene (SERT) DNA methylation using a discordant monozygotic (MZ) twin design. A subsample of 28 MZ twin pairs discordant for bullying victimization, with data on cortisol and DNA methylation, were identified in the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally representative 1994-1995 cohort of families with twins. RESULTS: Bullied twins had higher SERT DNA methylation at the age of 10 years compared with their non-bullied MZ co-twins. This group difference cannot be attributed to the children's genetic makeup or their shared familial environments because of the study design. Bullied twins also showed increasing methylation levels between the age of 5 years, prior to bullying victimization, and the age of 10 years whereas no such increase was detected in non-bullied twins across time. Moreover, children with higher SERT methylation levels had blunted cortisol responses to stress. CONCLUSIONS: Our study extends findings drawn from animal models, supports the hypothesis that early-life stress modifies DNA methylation at a specific cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) site in the SERT promoter and HPA functioning and suggests that these two systems may be functionally associated.

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Authors
Ouellet-Morin, I., Wong, C. C. Y., Danese, A., Pariante, C. M., Papadopoulos, A. S., Mill, J., & Arseneault, L.
Affiliations
King's College London (GB)
Corresponding author
Arseneault, L.
Venue
Psychological Medicine
Published
2012-12-10
Volume
43
Issue
9
Pages
1813-1823
ISSN
  • 0033-2917 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-8978
OpenAlex
W2165964254
Cited by
207
References
97
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 7
FWCI
5.78
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Psychological Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute for Health and Care Research (CSA/01/05/001)
  • Jacobs Foundation
  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research
  • Medical Research Council (MR/J002739/1)
  • Economic and Social Research Council (ES/H034897/1)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD061298, R01HD061298)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Epigenetics and DNA Methylation
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
Keywords
bullying victimization, serotonin transporter gene, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, early life stress, childhood adversity, monozygotic twins, epigenetics, CpG methylation, Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study
MeSH terms
Child, Female, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Pituitary-Adrenal System, Social Environment, Stress, Psychological, Twins, Monozygotic, DNA Methylation, Crime Victims, Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins, Bullying

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