Epigenetic Effects of Social Stress and Epigenetic Inheritance

Abstract

Social events that cause stress can cause epigenetic changes on living things. The study of the effects of social events experienced by an individual on epigenetic marks on the genome has created the field of social epigenetics. Social epigenetics examines the effects of psychosocial stress factors such as poverty, war trauma and childhood abuse on epigenetic mechanisms. Epigenetic mechanisms alter chemical markers in the genome structure without changing the DNA sequence. Among these mechanisms, DNA methylation in particular may have different phenotypic effects in response to stressors that may occur in the psychosocial environment. Post-traumatic stress disorder is one of the most significant proofs of the effects of epigenetic expressions altered due to traumatic events on the phenotype. The field of epigenetic inheritance has shown that epigenetic changes triggered by environmental influences can, in some cases, be transmitted through generations. This field provides a better understanding of the basis of many psychological disorders. This review provides an overview of social epigenetics, PTSD, and epigenetic inheritance.

Keywords

• Social epigenetics
• stress
• DNA methylation
• post traumatic stress disorder
• epigenetic inheritance

Sosyal Stresin Epigenetik Etkileri ve Epigenetik Kalıtım

Öz

Stres oluşturan sosyal olaylar, canlı üzerinde epigenetik değişimlere sebep olabilmektedir. Bir bireyin sosyal açıdan yaşadığı olayların genom üzerindeki epigenetik işaretlere olan etkisinin incelenmesi, sosyal epigenetik alanını oluşturmuştur. Sosyal epigenetik; yoksulluk, savaş travması, çocukluk dönemi istismarı gibi psikososyal stres faktörlerinin epigenetik mekanizmalar üzerine etkisini incelemektedir. Epigenetik mekanizmalar DNA dizilimini değiştirmeden genom yapısındaki kimyasal işaretleri değiştirmektedir. Bu mekanizmalardan özellikle DNA metilasyonu, psikososyal ortamlarda oluşabilecek stres faktörlerine yanıt vererek farklı fenotipik etkiler meydana getirebilir. Travma sonrası stres bozukluğu (TSSB), travmatik olaylar sonucu değişen epigenetik ifadelerin fenotipteki etkilerinin en büyük kanıtlarından biridir. Epigenetik kalıtım alanı, çevresel etkilerin tetiklediği epigenetik değişimlerin bazı durumlarda nesiller boyu aktarılabildiği göstermiştir. Bu alan birçok psikolojik rahatsızlığın temelinin daha iyi anlaşılabilmesine olanak sağlamaktadır. Bu derlemede sosyal epigenetik, TSSB ve epigenetik kalıtım konularına genel bir bakış sunulmuştur.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Sosyal epigenetik
• stres
• DNA metilasyonu
• travma sonrası stres bozukluğu
• epigenetik kalıtım

Kaynakça

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