AUTHOR=Pérez-Aldana Blanca Estela , Martínez-Magaña José Jaime , Mayén-Lobo Yerye Gibrán , Dávila-Ortiz de Montellano David José , Aviña-Cervantes Carlos Luis , Ortega-Vázquez Alberto , Genis-Mendoza Alma Delia , Sarmiento Emmanuel , Soto-Reyes Ernesto , Juárez-Rojop Isela Esther , Tovilla-Zarate Carlos Alfonso , González-Castro Thelma Beatriz , Nicolini Humberto , López-López Marisol , Monroy-Jaramillo Nancy TITLE=Clozapine Long-Term Treatment Might Reduce Epigenetic Age Through Hypomethylation of Longevity Regulatory Pathways Genes JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry VOLUME=13 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.870656 DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2022.870656 ISSN=1664-0640 ABSTRACT=

Long-term studies have shown significantly lower mortality rates in patients with continuous clozapine (CLZ) treatment than other antipsychotics. We aimed to evaluate epigenetic age and DNA methylome differences between CLZ-treated patients and those without psychopharmacological treatment. The DNA methylome was analyzed using the Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip in 31 CLZ-treated patients with psychotic disorders and 56 patients with psychiatric disorders naive to psychopharmacological treatment. Delta age (Δage) was calculated as the difference between predicted epigenetic age and chronological age. CLZ-treated patients were stratified by sex, age, and years of treatment. Differential methylation sites between both groups were determined using linear regression models. The Δage in CLZ-treated patients was on average lower compared with drug-naive patients for the three clocks analyzed; however, after data-stratification, this difference remained only in male patients. Additional differences were observed in Hannum and Horvath clocks when comparing chronological age and years of CLZ treatment. We identified 44,716 differentially methylated sites, of which 87.7% were hypomethylated in CLZ-treated patients, and enriched in the longevity pathway genes. Moreover, by protein–protein interaction, AMPK and insulin signaling pathways were found enriched. CLZ could promote a lower Δage in individuals with long-term treatment and modify the DNA methylome of the longevity-regulating pathways genes.