Frontiers in Genetics (Jan 2023)

Differences in MB-COMT DNA methylation in monozygotic twins on phenotypic indicators of impulsivity

  • Snežana Smederevac,
  • Lissette Delgado-Cruzata,
  • Dušanka Mitrović,
  • Bojana M. Dinić,
  • Toni-Ann T. Bravo,
  • Maria Delgado,
  • Vojislava Bugarski Ignjatović,
  • Selka Sadiković,
  • Ilija Milovanović,
  • Nataša Vučinić,
  • Bojan Branovački,
  • Mechthild Prinz,
  • Zoran Budimlija,
  • Jelena Kušić‐Tišma,
  • Željka Nikolašević

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2022.1067276
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13

Abstract

Read online

Epigenetic modifications of the membrane bound catechol-O-methyltransferase (MB-COMT) gene may affect the enzymatic degradation of dopamine, and consequently, human behavior. This study investigated the association between membrane bound catechol-O-methyltransferase DNA methylation (DNAm) differences in 92 monozygotic (MZ) twins with phenotypic manifestations of cognitive, behavioral, and personality indicators associated with reward-related behaviors and lack of control. We used pyrosequencing to determine DNAm of the regulatory region of membrane bound catechol-O-methyltransferase in saliva DNA. Results of intrapair differences in the percentage of membrane bound catechol-O-methyltransferase DNAm at each of five CpG sites show that there are associations between phenotypic indicators of lack of control and membrane bound catechol-O-methyltransferase DNAm differences on CpG1, CpG2 and CpG4, suggesting the common epigenetic patterns for personality traits, cognitive functions, and risk behaviors.

Keywords