Methylation in the Promoter Region of the Dopamine Transporter DAT1 Gene in People Addicted to Nicotine

Jolanta Chmielowiec, Krzysztof Chmielowiec, Aleksandra Strońska-Pluta, Aleksandra Suchanecka, Kinga Humińska-Lisowska, Milena Lachowicz, Marta Niewczas, Monika Białecka, Małgorzata Śmiarowska and Anna Grzywacz
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Jolanta Chmielowiec: Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Collegium Medicum, University of Zielona Góra, 65-046 Zielona Gora, Poland
Krzysztof Chmielowiec: Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Collegium Medicum, University of Zielona Góra, 65-046 Zielona Gora, Poland
Aleksandra Strońska-Pluta: Independent Laboratory of Health Promotion, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, 70-204 Szczecin, Poland
Aleksandra Suchanecka: Independent Laboratory of Health Promotion, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, 70-204 Szczecin, Poland
Kinga Humińska-Lisowska: Faculty of Physical Education, Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, 80-336 Gdansk, Poland
Milena Lachowicz: Department of Psychology, Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, 80-336 Gdansk, Poland
Marta Niewczas: Faculty of Physical Education, University of Rzeszow, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland
Monika Białecka: Department of Pharmacokinetics and Therapeutic Drug Monitoring, Pomeranian Medical University, 70-111 Szczecin, Poland
Małgorzata Śmiarowska: Department of Pharmacokinetics and Therapeutic Drug Monitoring, Pomeranian Medical University, 70-111 Szczecin, Poland
Anna Grzywacz: Independent Laboratory of Health Promotion, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, 70-204 Szczecin, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 14, 1-12

Abstract: The dopaminergic system is a crucial element of the addiction processes. The dopamine transporter modulates the dynamics and levels of released dopamine in the synaptic cleft. Therefore, regulation of dopamine transporter ( DAT1 ) gene expression is critical for maintaining homeostasis in the dopaminergic system. The aim of our study is evaluation of the methylation status of 33 CpG islands located in the DAT1 gene promoter region related to nicotine dependency. We investigated 142 nicotine-dependent subjects and 238 controls. Our results show that as many as 14 of the 33 CpG islands tested had statistically significantly higher methylation in the nicotine-dependent group compared to the control group. After applying Bonferroni correction, the total number of methylation sites was also significantly higher in the dependent subjects group. The analysis of the methylation status of particular CpG sites revealed a new direction of research regarding the biological aspects of nicotine addiction.

Keywords: DAT1 gene; promoter methylation; nicotine addiction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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