Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T11:33:11.119Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Proopiomelanocortin (POMC) sequencing and developmental delay: Preliminary evidence for a SNP in the 3’ UTR region of the POMC gene—Possible relevance for biological risk and self-injurious behavior

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 July 2018

John A. Damerow ,
Raymond C. Tervo ,
Michael Ehrhardt ,
Angela Panoskaltsis-Mortari  and
Frank J. Symons
John A. Damerow
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
Raymond C. Tervo
Affiliation:
Mayo Clinic Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare
Michael Ehrhardt
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
Angela Panoskaltsis-Mortari
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
Frank J. Symons*
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Frank Symons, Department of Educational Psychology, Educational Sciences Building, 56 River Road, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455; E-mail: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The proopiomelanocortin (POMC) molecule has been implicated in models of self-injurious behavior (SIB) in neurodevelopmental disorders, but it has never been specifically sequenced in search of base specific polymorphisms. The empirical focus of this preliminary study was to sequence the POMC gene in 11 children (mean age = 41.8 months, range = 12–60 months; 73% male) with clinical concerns regarding global developmental delay, 5 with reported self-injury. Genomic DNA was extracted from blood samples, and the POMC gene was amplified by specific oligonucleotide primers via polymerase chain reaction. The amplified gene products were sequenced by the University of Minnesota Genomic Center, and the results were analyzed using Sequencher software. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), 1130 C>T, was found in the 3’ untranslated region (UTR) of two samples (one of whom had SIB). The program TargetScanHuman was used to predict the function of this mutation. Variant c.1130 C<T was predicted to be located in the target site of two microRNAs (miRNAs; hsa-mir-3715 and hsa-mir-1909), and the variant allele T may result in an increased minimum free energy for the two miRNAs. Further work with much larger samples is needed to continue the investigation of POMC’s possible function as a risk factor for the development of SIB in children with developmental delay/disability. The findings presented in this study show that the SNP found in the 3’ UTR could alter the binding of miRNAs to POMC 3'UTR, thus, increasing POMC expression and affecting several biological systems with high relevance to the biology of self-injury. There was a significant difference in β-endorphin levels between SIB (M = 169.25 pg/mL) and no SIB (M = 273.5 pg/mL, SD = 15.2) cases (p < .01). Intervention implications are tied to prior observations of individual differences among SIB responders and nonresponders to treatment with the opioid antagonist naltrexone. Stratifying individuals with SIB by POMC mutation status may provide a potential tailoring-like variable to guide the selection of who is more (or less) likely to respond to opiate antagonist treatment. Currently, opioid antagonistic treatment for SIB is empiric (trial and error).

Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 31 , Issue 2 , May 2019 , pp. 433 - 438
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Supported, in part, by NICHD Grant No. 44763, 47201. Our sincere thanks to Kent M. Reed and Kristelle M. Mendoza for their bench assistance throughout this project and to Chantel Barney for specimen procurement and the children and their families for their support.

References

Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2000). Manual for the ASEBA preschool forms and profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children.Google Scholar
Bodfish, J. W., Symons, F. J., Parker, D. E., & Lewis, M. H. (2000). Varieties of repetitive behavior in autism: Comparisons to mental retardation. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 30, 237–243.Google Scholar
Chatterjee, S., & Pal, J. K. (2009). Role of 5′- and 3′-untranslated regions of mRNAs in human diseases. Biology of the Cell, 101, 251–262.Google Scholar
Chen, G. L., Novak, M. A., Meyer, J. S., Kelly, B. J., Vallender, E. J., & Miller, G. M. (2010). TPH2 5′- and 3′-regulatory polymorphisms and differentially associated with HPA axis function and self-injurious behavior in rhesus monkeys. Genes, Brain and Behavior, 9, 335–347.Google Scholar
Hosoi, J., Ozawa, H., & Granstein, R. D. (1999). Beta-endorphin binding and regulation of cytokine expression in Langerhan cells. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 885, 405–413.Google Scholar
Ireton, H. (1992). Child development inventory. San Antonio, TX: Pearson.Google Scholar
Ireton, H., & Glascoe, F. P. (1995). Assessing children's development using parents’ reports: The Child Development Inventory. Clinical Pediatrics, 34, 248–255.Google Scholar
Lam, K. S. L., & Aman, M. G. (2007). The Repetitive Behavior Scale—Revised: Independent validation in individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 855–866.Google Scholar
Long, D., Lee, R., Williams, P., Chan, C. Y., Ambros, V., & Ding, Y. (2007). Potent effect of target structure on microRNA function. Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, 14, 287–294.Google Scholar
Mirenda, P., Smith, I. M., Vaillancourt, T., Georgiades, S., Duku, E., Szatmari, P., … Zwaigenbaum, L. (2010). Validating the Repetitive Behavior Scale—Revised in young children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40, 1521–1530.Google Scholar
Rojahn, J., Schroeder, S., & Hoch, T. A. (2008). Self-Injurious behavior in intellectual disabilities. New York: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Sandman, C. A., Spence, M. A., & Smith, M. (1999). Proopiomelanocortin (POMC) disregulation and response to opiate blockers. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 5, 314–321.Google Scholar
Sandman, C. A., Touchette, P., Marion, S., Lenjavi, M., & Chicz-Demet, A. (2002). Disregulation of proopiomelanocortin and contagious maladaptive behavior. Regulatory Peptides, 108, 179–185.Google Scholar
Seo, Y. J., Kwon, M. S., Choi, S. S., Han, E. J., Jung, J. S., Choi, H. W., … Suh, H. W. (2008). Characterization of the hypothalamic proopiomelanocortin gene and beta-endorphin expression in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus of mice elicited by inflammatory pain. Neuroscience, 152, 1054–1066.Google Scholar
Signori, E., Bagni, C., Papa, S., Primerano, B., Rinaldi, M., Amaldi, F., & Fazio, V. M. (2001). A somatic mutation in the 5′UTR of BRCA1 gene in sporadic breast cancer causes down-modulation of translation efficiency. Oncogene, 20, 4596.Google Scholar
Symons, F. J. (2011). Self-injurious behavior and neurodevelopmental disorders: Relevance of nociceptive and sensory mechanisms. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 35, 1266–1274.Google Scholar
Symons, F. J., Shinde, S., Clary, J., Harper, V., & Bodfish, J. W. (2010). A sham-controlled sensory testing protocol for nonverbal individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities: Self-injury and gender effects. Journal of Pain, 11, 773–781.Google Scholar
Symons, F. J., Thompson, A., & Rodriguez, M. R. (2004). Self-injurious behavior and the efficacy of naltrexone treatment: A quantitative review. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 10, 193–200.Google Scholar
Symons, F. J., Wolff, J., Stone, L., Lim, T., & Bodfish, J. W. (2011). Salivary biomarkers of HPA axis and autonomic activity in adults with neurodevelopmental disorders and self-injurious behavior. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 3, 144–151.Google Scholar
Wang, F., Gelernter, J., Kranzler, H. R., & Zhang, H. (2012). Identification of POMC exonic variants associated with substance dependence and body mass index. PLOS ONE, 7, 1–10.Google Scholar