New Hope: The Emerging Role of 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine in Mental Health and Disease

Abstract

Historically biomedical research has examined genetic influences on mental health but these approaches have been limited, likely due to the broad heritability of brain-related disorders (e.g., 30–90%). Epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation, are environmentally sensitive mechanisms that may play a role in the origins and progression of mental illness. Recently, genome-wide disruptions of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) were associated with the development of early and late onset mental illnesses such as autism and Alzheimer’s disease, bringing new hope to the field of psychiatry. Here, we review the recent links of 5hmC to mental illness and discuss several putative functions of 5hmC in the context of its promising clinical relevance.

Keywords::

• 5-hydroxymethylcytosine
• DNA methylation
• epigenetics
• mental illness

Disclaimer

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This work was supported in part by National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1400815 (A Madrid), NARSAD Young Investigator Grant from the Brain & Behavioral Research Foundation #22669 (LA Papale), the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin Vilas Life Cycle Professorships #133AAA2989, University of Wisconsin Graduate School #MSN184352 (all to RS Alisch). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part by National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1400815 (A Madrid), NARSAD Young Investigator Grant from the Brain & Behavioral Research Foundation #22669 (LA Papale), the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin Vilas Life Cycle Professorships #133AAA2989, University of Wisconsin Graduate School #MSN184352 (all to RS Alisch). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.