Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27362416›Full record

ArticlePloS one2016

Hypermethylation of FOXP3 Promoter and Premature Aging of the Immune System in Female Patients with Panic Disorder?

Martina Prelog, Deborah Hilligardt, Christian A Schmidt, Grzegorz K Przybylski, Johannes Leierer, Giovanni Almanzar, Nady El Hajj, Klaus-Peter Lesch, Volker Arolt, Peter Zwanzger and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 34% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Multi-ancestry epigenome wide association study of generalized anxiety disorder.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026
    Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. "DNA Methylation signatures in panic disorder".Translational psychiatry · 2017
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.

Martina PrelogDepartment of Pediatrics, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany.
Deborah HilligardtDepartment of Pediatrics, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany.
Christian A SchmidtClinic for Internal Medicine C, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Grzegorz K PrzybylskiClinic for Internal Medicine C, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Johannes LeiererDepartment of Internal Medicine, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Giovanni AlmanzarDepartment of Pediatrics, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany.
Nady El HajjInstitute of Human Genetics, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany.
Klaus-Peter LeschMolecular Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany.
Volker AroltDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
Peter ZwanzgerDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
Thomas HaafInstitute of Human Genetics, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany.
Katharina DomschkeDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany.
Universitätsklinikum Würzburg · DEUniversität Greifswald · DEUniversity of Münster · DEUniversity of Würzburg · DEInnsbruck Medical University · AT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Immunological abnormalities associated with pathological conditions, such as higher infection rates, inflammatory diseases, cancer or cardiovascular events are common in patients with panic disorder. In the present study, T cell receptor excision circles (TRECs), Forkhead-Box-Protein P3 gene (FOXP3) methylation of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and relative telomere lengths (RTLs) were investigated in a total and subsamples of 131 patients with panic disorder as compared to 131 age- and sex-matched healthy controls in order to test for a potential dysfunction and premature aging of the immune system in anxiety disorders. Significantly lower TRECs (p = 0.004) as well as significant hypermethylation of the FOXP3 promoter region (p = 0.005) were observed in female (but not in male) patients with panic disorder as compared to healthy controls. No difference in relative telomere length was discerned between patients and controls, but significantly shorter telomeres in females, smokers and older persons within the patient group. The presently observed reduced TRECs in panic disorder patients and FOXP3 hypermethylation in female patients with panic disorder potentially reflect impaired thymus and immunosuppressive Treg function, which might partly account for the known increased morbidity and mortality of anxiety disorders conferred by e.g. cancer and cardiovascular disorders.

Indexed as

DNA MethylationPromoter Regions, GeneticAdultCase-Control StudiesCellular SenescenceFemaleForkhead Transcription FactorsHumansImmune SystemMaleMiddle AgedPanic DisorderRisk FactorsSex CharacteristicsTelomereTelomere ShorteningForkhead Transcription FactorsFOXP3 protein, human

Identifiers

PMID27362416
PMCPMC4928917
OpenAlexW2468792661

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.