The value of plasma cell-free DNA levels as biomarker in patients with eating disorders: A preliminary study.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) holds promise as a rapid and convenient biomarker for identifying individuals with eating disorders. To investigate this hypothesis, we measured plasma cfDNA in patients with different eating disorders.

METHODS:

In this study, 110 participants (98 patients with eating disorders divided into 30 patients with bulimia nervosa, 33 patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) Restricting subtype, 35 patients with AN Binge-eating/purging subtype and 12 controls) were enrolled. We measured both cell-free nuclear DNA (cf-nDNA) and cell-free mitochondrial DNA (cf-mtDNA) from plasma using two specific droplet digital PCR assays each, referring to two amplicon sizes.

RESULTS:

Levels of plasma cf-nDNA and cf-mtDNA showed no significant differences between control participants and those with eating disorders. However, we observed a higher proportion of long cf-nDNA fragments in patients with eating disorders, suggesting its potential as a biomarker for eating disorders.

CONCLUSION:

This is the first study of cfDNA in patients with eating disorders. Our findings highlight the potential for qualitative exploration of cfDNA, although not of quantitative interest. Full characterization of cfDNA may serve as a valuable biomarker for eating disorders and provide some insights into the hidden mechanisms underlying the chronic development of these conditions. Future studies are needed to confirm or refute this hypothesis.

• Authors: Camille Verebi, Juliette Nectoux, Philibert Duriez, Philip Gorwood, Nicolas Ramoz, Thierry Bienvenu
• Journal: Psychoneuroendocrinology (Psychoneuroendocrinology) Vol. 160 Pg. 106918 (Feb 2024) ISSN: 1873-3360 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 38065040 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Biomarkers
• DNA, Mitochondrial
• Cell-Free Nucleic Acids

Topics

• Humans
• Feeding and Eating Disorders (diagnosis, genetics)
• Anorexia Nervosa (diagnosis, genetics)
• Biomarkers
• DNA, Mitochondrial (genetics)
• Cell-Free Nucleic Acids