Abstract
It is known that the neurohormone oxytocin plays an important role in the pathogenesis of mental illness and also models the relationship between stress factors, especially those acting in the early stages of development, and the development of mental disorders. On the basis of these data, we investigated the effects of the interaction of the environmental factor, in the capacity of which the childhood adversity (CA) and the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) genotypes in the polymorphic sites rs4686302 and rs7632287 were considered, on the severity of negative symptoms of schizophrenia. The study involved 592 patients with schizophrenia (code F20, according to ICD-10). Information about the presence of CA was obtained from case histories and patient interviews. Analysis of covariance (GML) was used for statistical data processing; in post hoc pairwise comparison, Tukey’s test was used. A significant effect of the interaction between CA and OXTR gene polymorphism rs7632287 (G/A) on the severity of negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia was revealed. In patients without CA, polymorphisms did not have a significant effect on the studied phenotype. Thus, our study showed for the first time that the rs7632287 (G/A) polymorphism and CA have a mutual effect on the severity of negative symptoms of schizophrenia.
REFERENCES
Radua, J., Ramella-Cravaro, V., Ioannidis, J.P.A., et al., What causes psychosis? An umbrella review of risk and protective factors, World Psychiatry, 2018, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 49—66. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20490
Robinson, N. and Bergen, S.E., Environmental risk factors for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and their relationship to genetic risk: current knowledge and future directions, Front. Genet., 2021, vol. 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2021.686666
Harvey, P.D., Deckler, E., Jarskog, F., et al., Predictors of social functioning in patients with higher and lower levels of reduced emotional experience: social cognition, social competence, and symptom severity, Schizophrenia Res., 2019, vol. 206, pp. 271—276.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2018.11.005
Mäki, P., Veijola, J., Jones, P.B., et al., Predictors of schizophrenia, Br. Med. Bull., 2005, vol. 9, pp. 73—74. https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldh046
Reichenberg, A., The assessment of neuropsychological functioning in schizophrenia, Dialogues Clin. Neurosci., 2010, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 383—392. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2010.12.3
Feldman, R., Monakhov, M., Pratt, M., et al., Oxytocin pathway genes: evolutionary ancient system impacting on human affiliation, sociality, and psychopathology, Biol. Psychiatry, 2016, vol. 79, no. 3, pp. 174—184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.08.008
Marsh, N., Marsh, A.A., Lee, M.R., et al., Oxytocin and the neurobiology of prosocial behavior, Neuroscientist, 2021, vol. 27, no. 6, pp. 604—619. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073858420960111
Strauss, G.P., Chapman, H.C., Keller, W.R., et al., Endogenous oxytocin levels are associated with impaired social cognition and neurocognition in schizophrenia, J. Psychiatr. Res., 2019, vol. 12, pp. 38—43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2019.02.017
Ettinger, U., Hurlemann, R., and Chan, R.C.K., Oxytocin and schizophrenia spectrum disorders, Curr. Topics Behav. Neurosci., 2018, vol. 35, pp. 515—527. https://doi.org/10.1007/7854_2017_27
Malhi, G.S., Das, P., Outhred, T., et al., Interactions of OXTR rs53576 and emotional trauma on hippocampal volumes and perceived social support in adolescent girls, Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2020, vol. 115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104635
Zheng, S., Masuda, T., Matsunaga, M., et al., Oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) and childhood adversity influence trust, Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2020, vol. 121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104840
Zwicker, A., Denovan-Wright, E.M., and Uher, R., Gene-environment interplay in the etiology of psychosis, Psychol. Med., 2018, vol. 48, no. 12, pp. 1925—1936. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003329171700383X
Montag, C., Brockmann, E.M., Bayerl, M., et al., Oxytocin and oxytocin receptor gene polymorphisms and risk for schizophrenia: a case—control study, World J. Biol. Psychiatry, 2013, vol. 14, no. 7, pp. 500—508. https://doi.org/10.3109/15622975.2012.677547
Mongan, D., Ramesar, M., Föcking, M., et al., Role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia: a review of the evidence, proposed mechanisms and implications for treatment, Early Intervention Psychiatry, 2020, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 385—397. https://doi.org/10.1111/eip.12859
Womersley, J.S., Hemmings, S.M.J., Ziegler, C., et al., Childhood emotional neglect and oxytocin receptor variants: association with limbic brain volumes, World J. Biol. Psychiatry, 2020, vol. 21, no. 7, pp. 513—528. https://doi.org/10.1080/15622975.2019.1584331
Mikhailova, V.A., Lezheiko, T.V., Kolesina, N.Yu., and Golimbet, V.E., Studies of the relationship between oxytocinergic system genes, perinatal complications, and the formation of interpersonal relationships in schizophrenia patients, Neurosci. Behav. Physiol., 2022, vol. 52, no. 5, pp. 614—618. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-022-01285-5
Veras, A.B., Getz, M., Froemke, R.C., et al., Rare missense coding variants in oxytocin receptor (OXTR) in schizophrenia cases are associated with early trauma exposure, cognition and emotional processing, Psychiatric. Res., 2018, vol. 97, pp. 58—64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.11.011
Campbell, D.B., Datta, D., Jones, S.T., et al., Association of oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene variants with multiple phenotype domains of autism spectrum disorder, J. Neurodev. Disord., 2011, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 101—112. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11689-010-9071-2
Walum, H., Lichtenstein, P., Neiderhiser, J.M., et al., Variation in the oxytocin receptor gene is associated with pair-bonding and social behavior, Biol. Psychiatry, 2012, vol. 71, no. 5, pp. 419—426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.09.002
Wu, N., Li, Z., and Su, Y., The association between oxytocin receptor gene polymorphism (OXTR) and trait empathy, J. Affective Disord., 2012, vol. 138, no. 3, pp. 468—472. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2012.01.009
Hovey, D., Lindstedt, M., Zettergren, A., et al., Antisocial behavior and polymorphisms in the oxytocin receptor gene: findings in two independent samples, Mol. Psychiatry, 2016, vol. 21, no. 7, pp. 983—988. https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2015.144
LoParo, D. and Waldman, I.D., The oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) is associated with autism spectrum disorder: a meta-analysis, Mol. Psychiatry, 2015, vol. 20, no. 5, pp. 640—646. https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2014.77
Westberg, L., Henningsson, S., Zettergren, A., et al., Variation in the oxytocin receptor gene is associated with face recognition and its neural correlates, Front. Behav. Neurosci., 2016, vol. 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00178
Kalmakis, K.A. and Chandler, G.E., Adverse childhood experiences: towards a clear conceptual meaning, J. Adv. Nurs., 2014, vol. 70, no. 7, pp. 1489—1501. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.12329
Reichl, C., Kaess, M., Fuchs, A., et al., Childhood adversity and parenting behavior: the role of oxytocin receptor gene polymorphisms, Neural Transmis., 2019, vol. 126, no. 6, pp. 777—787. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-019-02009-9
Popovic, D., Schmitt, A., Kaurani, L., et al., Childhood trauma in schizophrenia: current findings and research perspectives, Front. Neurosci., 2019, vol. 13, p. 274. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2019.00274
Kogan, S.M., Bae, D., Cho, J., et al., Childhood adversity, socioeconomic instability, oxytocin-receptor-gene methylation, and romantic-relationship support among young African American men, Psychol. Sci., 2019, vol. 30, no. 8, pp. 1234—1244. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797619854735
Alfimova, M.V., Korovaitseva, G.I., Gabaeva, M.V., et al., Genetic polymorphism of cytokines IL-1β, IL-4, and TNF-α as a factor modifying the influence of adverse childhood experiences on the symptoms of schizophrenia, Neurosci. Behav. Physiol., 2023, vol. 53, no. 4, pp. 524—530. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-023-01451-3
Kalyouncu, T., Ozbaran, B., Kose, S., et al., Variation in the oxytocin receptor gene is associated with social cognition and ADHD, J. Atten. Disord., 2019, vol. 23, no. 7, pp. 702—711. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054717706757
Meyer, M., Jurek, B., Alfonso-Prieto, M., et al., Structure—function relationships of the disease-linked A218T oxytocin receptor variant, Mol. Psychiatry, 2022, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 907—917. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-021-01241-8
Chang, S.C., Glymour, M.M., Rewak, M., et al., Are genetic variations in OXTR, AVPR1A, and CD38 genes important to social integration? Results from two large U.S. cohorts, Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2014, vol. 39, pp. 257—268. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.09.024
Kohlhoff, J., Cibralic, S., Hawes, D.J., et al., Oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) polymorphisms and social, emotional and behavioral functioning in children and adolescents: a systematic narrative review, Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev., 2022, vol. 135, p. 104573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104573
Bey, K., Campos-Martin, R., Klawohn, J., et al., Hypermethylation of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) in obsessive-compulsive disorder: further evidence for a biomarker of disease and treatment response, Epigenetics, 2022, vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 642—652. https://doi.org/10.1080/15592294.2021.1943864
Muros, N.I., García, A.S., Forner, C., et al., Facial affect recognition by patients with schizophrenia using human avatars, J. Clin. Med., 2021, vol. 28, no. 9, p. 1904. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10091904
Funding
This work was supported by ongoing institutional funding. No additional grants to carry out or direct this particular research were obtained.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors of this work declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
ETHICS APPROVAL AND CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE
The study was approved by the Mental Health Research Center, Protocol no. 312 dated July 25, 2023.
Informed voluntary consent was obtained from each of the study participants or their legal representatives included in the study.
All patients signed an informed consent to participate in the study and donated blood for DNA extraction.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note.
Pleiades Publishing remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lezheiko, T.V., Mikhailova, V.A., Gabaeva, M.V. et al. Study of the Association between Oxytocin Receptor Gene Polymorphism, Childhood Adversity, and Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia. Russ J Genet 60, 398–402 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1022795424030098
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1022795424030098