The association of DAT gene methylation with striatal DAT availability in healthy subjects

DNA methylation inhibits gene expression by preventing transcription factors from binding to DNA. Functioning of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons is influenced by the expression of the dopamine transporter (DAT), and genetic variations in the gene encoding DAT contribute to differences in reward processing. We aimed to investigate the action of DAT methylation on DAT protein expression measured by positron emission tomography (PET).

The emission data were acquired over 90 min with 50 frames after injection of ¹⁸F-FP-CIT using PET. Binding potentials (BP_NDs) of ventral striatum, caudate nucleus, putamen were measured with the simplified reference tissue method. Genomic DNA was extracted from subjects' blood sampling. Methylation of 4 regions in SLC6A3 gene was assessed using bisulfite pyrosequencing. The mean percentage of methylation (%) for each cluster was calculated by taking the average of all CpG site methylation levels measured within the cluster. Subjects were assessed with the Generalized Reward and Punishment Expectancy Scales (GRAPES) that consists of 30 items related with the reward and punishment that individuals expect for their behaviors.

Thirty-five healthy males, with an age range between 20 and 30 years, and a mean age of 24.4 ± 2.7 years, were included in this study. The mean percentage of methylation (%) from cluster C showed a trend of positive correlation with DAT availability of ventral striatum (rho = 0.3712, p = 0.0281), not significant after correction for multiple comparisons, and a significant correlation with GRAPES A: reward expectancy scale (rho = 0.7178, p < 0.0001).

DAT methylation from peripheral blood showed a trend of positive correlation with DAT availability of ventral striatum in healthy subjects; however, it was not significant after correction for multiple comparison. The degrees of methylation from cluster C of DAT in peripheral blood were significantly correlated with reward scales of GRAPES A: reward expectancy scale. The association between DAT methylation and DAT expression needs to be investigated further.