CEINGE

CEINGE-Biotecnologie Avanzate Franco Salvatore operates in the field of molecular biology and advanced biotechnology applied to Human Health. It is an excellence in Italy and abroad for the Research and Diagnostics of genetic diseases (hereditary and acquired). It is a High Education Center for new generations of researchers and scientists and is one of the fundamental hinges for the development of the «biotech» sector in the Campania region.

To characterize the response to the antidepressant therapies, the main effort of CEINGE in OPADE will be to determine, using «next-generation» sequencing methods, the genetic status of a set of genes and the methylation state of about 1 million sites across the entire DNA, extracted from blood and saliva of each single patient, during the treatment.

Methylation is an epigenetic signature influenced by many factors including environment, stress and drugs. For this reason, it represents an ideal interface between stress factors and genetics. CEINGE will contribute to integrate the epigenomic and genetic analyses with the others planned in the project, such as transcriptomics, metabolomic, microbiome, proteomic, to identify molecular «profiles» associated with MDD and with the successful responses to a given personalized therapy.