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Discovered a possible new marker of susceptibility to stress.
The lack of the MECP2 protein in the blood could increase the likelihood of developing stress-related pathologies in people, especially women, who have experienced particularly adverse experiences during childhood or adolescence. This is what emerged from a new study conducted by researchers at the Reference Center for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS). The results were published in the pages of the specialized journal Translational Psychiatry.
The study in detail
deepening
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During the study, the research team investigated the link between early stress experiences and MECP2 (Methyl-CpG binding protein 2), a protein essential for the functioning of nerve cells, already known because some mutations of the gene that encodes it are the main cause of Rett Syndrome, a rare, very serious neurological disease that predominantly affects females from early childhood. Specifically, by analyzing the levels of MECP2 in blood samples from 63 clinically healthy people, the researchers were able to demonstrate that the protein at the center of the study, in addition to being implicated in numerous neurodevelopmental processes, plays a fundamental role in determining the effects that the environment in which we live has on our organism, suggesting its involvement in the processes that predispose to the development of psychopathologies induced by exposure to stressful events in the course of life.
The results
The research results therefore confirmed the existence of a correlation between reduced levels of MECP2 and maladaptive outcomes, such as anxiety and depression, of adverse childhood experiences. Bond that turns out to be stronger among women. “Further studies aimed at deepening the mechanisms underlying this association will be able to reveal new targets for the implementation of personalized preventive interventions”, underlined the Istituto Superiore di Sanità.