A study on methylation of two CpG islands of MAOA gene promoter among opium-addicted males undergoing methadone treatment

Abstract

The association between methylation of MAOA gene promoter and alcohol and nicotine dependence has been demonstrated in women but not in men yet. Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and substance use disorders (SUD) are two types of disorders that could highly be influenced by methylation-induced changes in MAOA function. The aim of the current study is to investigate the effect of opioid addiction on methylation of MAOA gene promoter in males. DNA was extracted from the whole blood of all samples (29 opium-addicted individuals undergoing methadone treatment and 28 healthy people) according to the extraction protocol, followed by treating these samples with bisulfite kits. The investigated region including two CpG islands in the promoter region of MAOA gene contained 35 CpG dinucleotides investigated through Sanger sequencing method. The frequency of methylation at two CpG islands of MAOA gene promoter regions was equal to zero among addicted individuals undergoing methadone treatment and healthy peoples. Then, comparing methylation levels among the study group is not applicable. In conclusion, there was no association between opium addiction and methylation of the MAOA promoter regions in opium-addicted male undergoing methadone treatment.

Keywords:

• MAOA
• methylation
• CpG site
• opium addiction
• methadone treatment

Acknowledgments

We thank the cooperation and support of Dr. Soltani, the head of Cellular and Molecular Research Center, and Mrs. Habibi, the expert of Biochemistry and Biophysics lab, Medical faculty of Medical University of Guilan.

Disclosure statement

The authors of the current study have no conflict of interest to disclose.

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.