SynthesisMolecular psychiatry2022
Altered gene expression and PTSD symptom dimensions in World Trade Center responders.
Synthesis in Molecular psychiatry, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparing the molecular correlates of PTSD in first responders and the broader molecular PTSD literature: a hybrid review.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Biomarkers associated with cognitive impairment in post-traumatic stress disorder: A systematic review of current evidence.Ageing research reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Dynamic immune and metabolic dysregulation in women with post-traumatic stress disorder: Longitudinal transcriptomic insights following sexual assault.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Machine learning and bioinformatics framework integration reveal potential characteristic genes related to immune cell infiltration in post-traumatic stress disorder.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- MRI signature of brain age underlying post-traumatic stress disorder in World Trade Center responders.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- The chloride intracellular channel 1 (CLIC1) is essential for microglial morphodynamics and neuroinflammation.Science advances · 2025Article
- Neurobiological and Existential Profiles in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: The Role of Serotonin, Cortisol, Noradrenaline, and IL-12 Across Chronicity and Age.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Implications of gene × environment interactions in post-traumatic stress disorder risk and treatment.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2025Review
- Transcriptomics and psychotherapy: An integrative review.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2024Review
- Mapping the epigenomic landscape of post-traumatic stress disorder in human cortical neurons.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2024Article
- Serum cytokines and inflammatory proteins in individuals with heroin use disorder: potential mechanistically based biomarkers for diagnosis.Translational psychiatry · 2024Article
- Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A State-of-the-art Review.Current neuropharmacology · 2024Review
- Examination of eQTL Polymorphisms Associated with Increased Risk of Progressive Complicated Sarcoidosis in European and African Descent Subjects.European journal of respiratory medicine · 2023Article
- Neuroimmune Mechanisms of Opioid Use Disorder and Recovery: Translatability to Human Studies, and Future Research Directions.Neuroscience · 2023Review
- Trauma Matters: Integrating Genetic and Environmental Components of PTSD.Advanced genetics (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2023Article
- Treatment-associated mRNA co-expression changes in monocytes of patients with posttraumatic stress disorder.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Modeling gene × environment interactions in PTSD using human neurons reveals diagnosis-specific glucocorticoid-induced gene expression.Nature neuroscience · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
26 authors at 9 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Despite experiencing a significant trauma, only a subset of World Trade Center (WTC) rescue and recovery workers developed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Identification of biomarkers is critical to the development of targeted interventions for treating disaster responders and potentially preventing the development of PTSD in this population. Analysis of gene expression from these individuals can help in identifying biomarkers of PTSD. We established a well-phenotyped sample of 371 WTC responders, recruited from a longitudinal WTC responder cohort using stratified random sampling, by obtaining blood, self-reported and clinical interview data. Using bulk RNA-sequencing from whole blood, we examined the association between gene expression and WTC-related PTSD symptom severity on (i) highest lifetime Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) score, (ii) past-month CAPS score, and (iii) PTSD symptom dimensions using a 5-factor model of re-experiencing, avoidance, emotional numbing, dysphoric arousal and anxious arousal symptoms. We corrected for sex, age, genotype-derived principal components and surrogate variables. Finally, we performed a meta-analysis with existing PTSD studies (total N = 1016), using case/control status as the predictor and correcting for these variables. We identified 66 genes significantly associated with total highest lifetime CAPS score (FDR-corrected p < 0.05), and 31 genes associated with total past-month CAPS score. Our more granular analyses of PTSD symptom dimensions identified additional genes that did not reach statistical significance in our analyses with total CAPS scores. In particular, we identified 82 genes significantly associated with lifetime anxious arousal symptoms. Several genes significantly associated with multiple PTSD symptom dimensions and total lifetime CAPS score (SERPINA1, RPS6KA1, and STAT3) have been previously associated with PTSD. Geneset enrichment of these findings has identified pathways significant in metabolism, immune signaling, other psychiatric disorders, neurological signaling, and cellular structure. Our meta-analysis revealed 10 genes that reached genome-wide significance, all of which were downregulated in cases compared to controls (CIRBP, TMSB10, FCGRT, CLIC1, RPS6KB2, HNRNPUL1, ALDOA, NACA, ZNF429 and COPE). Additionally, cellular deconvolution highlighted an enrichment in CD4 T cells and eosinophils in responders with PTSD compared to controls. The distinction in significant genes between total lifetime CAPS score and the anxious arousal symptom dimension of PTSD highlights a potential biological difference in the mechanism underlying the heterogeneity of the PTSD phenotype. Future studies should be clear about methods used to analyze PTSD status, as phenotypes based on PTSD symptom dimensions may yield different gene sets than combined CAPS score analysis. Potential biomarkers implicated from our meta-analysis may help improve therapeutic target development for PTSD.
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Registered trials
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 Socratic graph.