AUTHOR=Alece Arantes Moreno Ivana , Rodrigues de Oliveira Daniela , Ribeiro Borçoi Aline , Fungaro Rissatti Luciana , Vitorino Freitas Flávia , Arantes Lidia Maria Rebolho Batista , Oliveira Mendes Suzanny , dos Santos Vieira Tamires , Risse Quaioto Bárbara , Cerbino Doblas Paola , Sgrancio Olinda Amanda , Ribeiro Cunha Ester , Gasparini dos Santos Joaquim , Assis Pinheiro Júlia , Pereira Sorroche Bruna , Madeira Alvares da Silva Adriana TITLE=Methylation of BDNF gene in association with episodic memory in women JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neuroscience VOLUME=17 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2023.1092406 DOI=10.3389/fnins.2023.1092406 ISSN=1662-453X ABSTRACT=

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene regulation plays an important role in long-term memory formation, and the DNA methylation (DNAm) level of BDNF promoters has been associated with episodic memory deficits. Our aim was to explore the association between DNAm levels in BDNF promoter IV with verbal learning and memory performance in healthy women. We conducted a cross-sectional study by recruiting 53 individuals. Episodic memory was assessed by using the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). Clinical interviews, RAVLT, and blood sample collection were assessed in all participants. DNAm was measured on DNA from whole peripheral blood using pyrosequencing. According to generalized linear model (GzLM) analyses, cytosine guanine dinucleotide (CpG) site 5 showed significant associations between learning capacity (LC, p < 0.035), that is, every 1% of DNA methylation at CpG site 5 results in a 0.068 reduction in verbal learning performance. To the best of our knowledge, the current study is the first to show that BDNF DNAm plays an important role in episodic memory.