Efeitos de inibidores da DNA metiltransferase na modulação de comportamentos aversivos relacionados à ansiedade

Abstract

Anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and panic disorder (PT), cause significant impacts on the lives of patients affected by them. Pharmacological treatment of GAD and PT presents problems of efficacy and safety. In this sense, new pharmacological targets have been studied in order to develop more effective treatment options. The pathogenesis of anxiety disorders is complex in nature and interacts with environmental and biological factors, particularly genetic factors. Recently, it has been shown that epigenetic processes can influence gene regulation and mediate adaptation to environmental factors in mental disorders, characterized by a stable hereditary phenotype resulting from changes in the chromosome without changes in the DNA sequence. Epigenetic modifications include changes in DNA, such as methylation, which consists of the addition of a methyl (CH3) catalyzed enzyme by DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs).