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Homocysteine associated genomic DNA hypermethylation in patients with chronic alcoholism.

Bönsch D, Lenz B, Reulbach U, Kornhuber J, Bleich S

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander-University, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. dominikus.boensch@psych.imed.uni-erlangen.de

Higher plasma homocysteine concentrations can influence genomic DNA methylation in peripheral blood cells. In the present controlled study we observed a significant increase (10%) of genomic DNA methylation in patients with alcoholism (t = -3.16, df = 158, p = 0.002) which was significantly associated with their elevated homocysteine levels (multiple linear regression, p < 0.001). Since methylation of DNA is an important epigenetic factor in regulation of gene expression these findings may have important implications for a possible subsequent derangement of epigenetic control these patients.

Published 26 November 2004 in J Neural Transm, 111(12): 1611-6.
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