Cited by 180Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ResearchStress Responses and CortisolChild Abuse and Trauma

Gene networks specific for innate immunity define post-traumatic stress disorder

Open access
Breen, M S, Maihofer, A X, Glatt, S J, Tylee, D S, Chandler, S D, Tsuang, M T, Risbrough, V B, Baker, D G +3 more·2015·Molecular Psychiatry

Abstract

The molecular factors involved in the development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) remain poorly understood. Previous transcriptomic studies investigating the mechanisms of PTSD apply targeted approaches to identify individual genes under a cross-sectional framework lack a holistic view of the behaviours and properties of these genes at the system-level. Here we sought to apply an unsupervised gene-network based approach to a prospective experimental design using whole-transcriptome RNA-Seq gene expression from peripheral blood leukocytes of U.S. Marines (N=188), obtained both pre- and post-deployment to conflict zones. We identified discrete groups of co-regulated genes (i.e., co-expression modules) and tested them for association to PTSD. We identified one module at both pre- and post-deployment containing putative causal signatures for PTSD development displaying an over-expression of genes enriched for functions of innate-immune response and interferon signalling (Type-I and Type-II). Importantly, these results were replicated in a second non-overlapping independent dataset of U.S. Marines (N=96), further outlining the role of innate immune and interferon signalling genes within co-expression modules to explain at least part of the causal pathophysiology for PTSD development. A second module, consequential of trauma exposure, contained PTSD resiliency signatures and an over-expression of genes involved in hemostasis and wound responsiveness suggesting that chronic levels of stress impair proper wound healing during/after exposure to the battlefield while highlighting the role of the hemostatic system as a clinical indicator of chronic-based stress. These findings provide novel insights for early preventative measures and advanced PTSD detection, which may lead to interventions that delay or perhaps abrogate the development of PTSD.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1038/mp.2015.9

Cites

58 of 58 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Enriched expression of genes implicated in innate immunity and INF signaling at baseline pre-deployment is associated with increased risk for PTSD development post-deployment.

    “In addition, enriched expression of genes implicated in innate immunity and INF signaling at baseline (pre-deployment) is associated with increased risk for PTSD development post-deployment (Breen et al, 2015).”

    From Inflammation in Fear- and Anxiety-Based Disorders: PTSD, GAD, and Beyond (2017) · cites this paper as Breen et al, 2015

  • Prospective studies have begun to show that higher levels of inflammation prior to trauma exposure increase risk for subsequent development of PTSD following trauma exposure.

    “Although no data as yet prospectively demonstrate that chronic PTSD results in augmented inflammation, prospective studies have begun to show that higher levels of inflammation prior to trauma exposure increases risk for subsequent development of PTSD following trauma exposure (Breen et al, 2015;Eraly et al, 2014;Glatt et al, 2013;Tylee et al, 2015).”

    From Inflammation in Fear- and Anxiety-Based Disorders: PTSD, GAD, and Beyond (2017) · cites this paper as Breen et al, 2015

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [24]American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 2000 4th edition Washington DC American Psychiatric Press

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Breen, M. S., Maihofer, A. X., Glatt, S. J., Tylee, D. S., Chandler, S. D., Tsuang, M. T., Risbrough, V. B., Baker, D. G., O'Connor, D. T., Nievergelt, C. M., & Woelk, C. H.
Affiliations
  • University of Southampton (GB)
  • University of California San Diego (US)
  • SUNY Upstate Medical University (US)
Corresponding author
  • Breen, M S
  • Nievergelt, C M
Venue
Molecular Psychiatry
Published
2015-03-10
Volume
20
Issue
12
Pages
1538-1545
ISSN
  • 1359-4184 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-5578
OpenAlex
W2064503573
Cited by
180
References
57
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 29 · 2016: 24 · 2015: 5
FWCI
31.83
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Molecular Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
  • ePrints Soton (University of Southampton) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (I01 BX002558)
  • Brain and Behavior Research Foundation
  • National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression
  • Veterans Medical Research Foundation
  • Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India
  • U.S. Public Health Service (R01 MHO85560)
  • Office of Naval Research
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH085521, R01MH085560, R21MH085240, R01MH093500)
  • Naval Medical Research Center (N62645)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
Keywords
post-traumatic stress disorder, gene co-expression modules, innate immunity, interferon signaling, type I interferon, interferon-gamma, peripheral blood leukocytes, Marines, hemostasis, wound healing, chronic stress, PTSD prevention
MeSH terms
Humans, Immunity, Innate, Male, Military Personnel, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Gene Expression, Gene Regulatory Networks, Young Adult

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review