@article{ref1,
title="Association of childhood chronic physical aggression with a DNA methylation signature in adult human T cells",
journal="PLoS one",
year="2014",
author="Provençal, Nadine and Suderman, Matthew J. and Guillemin, Claire and Vitaro, Frank and Côté, Sylvana M. and Hallett, Michael and Tremblay, Richard E. and Szyf, Moshe",
volume="9",
number="4",
pages="e89839-e89839",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Chronic physical aggression (CPA) is characterized by frequent use of physical aggression from early childhood to adolescence. Observed in approximately 5% of males, CPA is associated with early childhood adverse environments and long-term negative consequences. Alterations in DNA methylation, a covalent modification of DNA that regulates genome function, have been associated with early childhood adversity. AIMS: To test the hypothesis that a trajectory of chronic physical aggression during childhood is associated with a distinct DNA methylation profile during adulthood. <br><br>METHODS: We analyzed genome-wide promoter DNA methylation profiles of T cells from two groups of adult males assessed annually for frequency of physical aggression between 6 and 15 years of age: a group with CPA and a control group. Methylation profiles covering the promoter regions of 20 000 genes and 400 microRNAs were generated using MeDIP followed by hybridization to microarrays. <br><br>RESULTS: In total, 448 distinct gene promoters were differentially methylated in CPA. Functionally, many of these genes have previously been shown to play a role in aggression and were enriched in biological pathways affected by behavior. Their locations in the genome tended to form clusters spanning millions of bases in the genome. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence of clustered and genome-wide variation in promoter DNA methylation in young adults that associates with a history of chronic physical aggression from 6 to 15 years of age. However, longitudinal studies of methylation during early childhood will be necessary to determine if and how this methylation variation in T cells DNA plays a role in early development of chronic physical aggression.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1932-6203",
doi="10.1371/journal.pone.0089839",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0089839"
}