ArticleBrain, behavior, and immunity2018
CRP polymorphisms and DNA methylation of the AIM2 gene influence associations between trauma exposure, PTSD, and C-reactive protein.
Article in Brain, behavior, and immunity, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
45 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 80 citations in OpenAlex.
- Peripheral blood levels of C-reactive protein in posttraumatic stress disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Inflammatory and oxidative stress markers in post-traumatic stress disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Molecular psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Research Progress on Inflammation and Immune Dysregulation in PTSD.Brain and behavior · 2025Review
- Acute Stress and Autoimmune Markers: Evaluating the Psychoneuroimmunology Axis in Firefighter Recruits.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Gut-brain axis in post-traumatic stress disorder: microbial - mediated mechanisms and new therapeutic approaches - A narrative review.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Genetic Alterations in War-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review.Bulletin of emergency and trauma · 2025Review
- Genome-wide DNA methylation analysis of cannabis use disorder in a veteran cohort enriched for posttraumatic stress disorder.Psychiatry research · 2024Article
- Inflammation in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Dysregulation or Recalibration?Current neuropharmacology · 2024Article
- Suicidality in civilian women with PTSD: Possible link to childhood maltreatment, proinflammatory molecules, and their genetic variations.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2023Article
- Molecular Toxicology and Pathophysiology of Comorbid Alcohol Use Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Associated with Traumatic Brain Injury.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Neuronal C-Reactive Protein/FcγRI Positive Feedback Proinflammatory Signaling Contributes to Nerve Injury Induced Neuropathic Pain.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2023Article
- Sex-specific immune mechanisms in PTSD symptomatology and risk: A translational overview and perspectives.Brain research bulletin · 2023Review
- Psychological and biological mechanisms linking trauma with cardiovascular disease risk.Translational psychiatry · 2023Review
- PTSD, Immune System, and Inflammation.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2023Article
- C-Reactive Protein (CRP): A Potent Inflammation Biomarker in Psychiatric Disorders.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2023Article
- AIM2 and Psoriasis.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
- Identification of novel susceptibility methylation loci for pancreatic cancer in a two-phase epigenome-wide association study.Epigenetics · 2022Article
- Methylation of genes and regulation of inflammatory processes on emotional response in young adults with alcoholic parents.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2022Article
- The role of the immune system in posttraumatic stress disorder.Translational psychiatry · 2022Review
- Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundRecent studies have implicated inflammatory processes in the pathophysiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). C-reactive protein (CRP) is a widely-used measure of peripheral inflammation, but little is known about the genetic and epigenetic factors that influence blood levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in individuals with PTSD.
methodsParticipants were 286 U.S. military veterans of post-9/11 conflicts (57% with current PTSD). Analyses focused on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the CRP gene and DNA methylation at cg10636246 in AIM2-a locus recently linked to CRP levels through results from a large-scale epigenome-wide association study.
resultsPTSD was positively correlated with serum CRP levels with PTSD cases more likely to have CRP levels in the clinically-elevated range compared to those without a PTSD diagnosis. Multivariate analyses that controlled for white blood cell proportions, genetic principal components, age and sex, showed this association to be mediated by methylation at the AIM2 locus. rs3091244, a functional SNP in the CRP promoter region, moderated the association between lifetime trauma exposure and current PTSD severity. Analyses also revealed that the top SNPs from the largest genome-wide association study of CRP conducted to date (rs1205 and rs2794520) significantly interacted with PTSD to influence CRP levels.
conclusionsThese findings provide new insights into genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of inflammatory processes in the pathophysiology of PTSD and point to new directions for biomarker identification and treatment development for patients with PTSD.
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