Intimate Partner Violence and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: seeking epigenetic markers associated with violence against women

Introduction: Violence against women is a significant health and social problem and includes many different forms such as the Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). The consequences range among morbidity, mortality, physical and psychological health problems, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The interactions between genome and environmental factors, such as IPV, represent one of the major challenges in molecular medicine. The major focus of our research project, named epiREVAMP (from the Latin REpellere Vulnera Ad Mulierem et Puerum), is the identification of epigenetic markers of the IPV disorder that distinguish between people at high and low risk of developing PTSD, in order to better target evidence-based interventions in high risk groups. The first steps of this study are the definition of the samples to be collected (i.e. which type of victims), the completion of a standardised questionnaire by the victims and the set up of a biobank storing the collected samples until the definition of the final laboratory protocols. Materials and Methods We expect to study 600 subjects/year in the SINIACA-IDB (Security in Domestic Environment National surveillance Project) surveillance. The evaluation of a possible psychological therapy will be carried out by analysing a cohort of 200 women who suffered violence and 400 matched controls of women who did not suffer violence. DNA and RNA samples will be collected, stored and processed and the epigenome will be analysed using the array Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip (Illumina,USA). The differentially methylated regions will be identified using GenomeStudio software and the laboratory results will be analysed along with the information collected in the questionnaire. Results Both early detection of post-traumatic distress in women and the identification of epigenomic factors are the prioritised areas of this research which is focused not only on the susceptibility but also on the resilience or not resilience to PTSD. This innovative approach represents a shift in the understanding of genetics from a gene-centric view to the phenotypic plasticity of a given genotype producing different phenotypes in response to different environmental conditions.