%0 Journal Article
%T Evaluating Methylation of the Oxytocin Receptor Gene and the Oxytocin Intergenic Region.
%A King L
%A Robins S
%A Chen G
%A Turecki G
%A Zelkowitz P
%J Methods Mol Biol
%V 2384
%N 0
%D 2022
%M 34550570
暂无%R 10.1007/978-1-0716-1759-5_6
%X Oxytocin and its paralogue, vasopressin, are widely studied biomarkers in relation to pregnancy and birth, maternal and social behavior, and mental health. Epigenetics is a biological mechanism that mediates the link between environmental influences and behavioral patterns. In a candidate gene approach, we describe here a DNA methylation assay of two regions within the oxytocin system, using human buccal cells and next-generation sequencing. Two nanograms of DNA were sufficient to assess the DNA methylation status of 28 CpG sites (22 corresponding to the oxytocin receptor and 6 corresponding to the vasopressin/oxytocin intergenic region). This method proved to be non-invasive for the participants, and reproducible; its validity remains to be confirmed alongside other biomarkers of gene function.