- Muhie, Seid;
- Gautam, Aarti;
- Yang, Ruoting;
- Misganaw, Burook;
- Daigle, Bernie J;
- Mellon, Synthia H;
- Flory, Janine D;
- Abu-Amara, Duna;
- Lee, Inyoul;
- Wang, Kai;
- Rampersaud, Ryan;
- Consortium, PTSD Systems Biology;
- Hood, Leroy;
- Yehuda, Rachel;
- Marmar, Charles R;
- Wolkowitz, Owen M;
- Ressler, Kerry J;
- Doyle, Francis J;
- Hammamieh, Rasha;
- Jett, Marti
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a multisystem syndrome. Integration of systems-level multi-modal datasets can provide a molecular understanding of PTSD. Proteomic, metabolomic, and epigenomic assays are conducted on blood samples of two cohorts of well-characterized PTSD cases and controls: 340 veterans and 180 active-duty soldiers. All participants had been deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan and exposed to military-service-related criterion A trauma. Molecular signatures are identified from a discovery cohort of 218 veterans (109/109 PTSD+/-). Identified molecular signatures are tested in 122 separate veterans (62/60 PTSD+/-) and in 180 active-duty soldiers (PTSD+/-). Molecular profiles are computationally integrated with upstream regulators (genetic/methylation/microRNAs) and functional units (mRNAs/proteins/metabolites). Reproducible molecular features of PTSD are identified, including activated inflammation, oxidative stress, metabolic dysregulation, and impaired angiogenesis. These processes may play a role in psychiatric and physical comorbidities, including impaired repair/wound healing mechanisms and cardiovascular, metabolic, and psychiatric diseases.