Fig. 1.

Plasma corticosterone, expression, and DNAm vs. time by treatment group. Mice were given different doses of corticosterone [100 μg/ml (triangle), 50 μg/ml (square), or vehicle solution (circle)] in their drinking water for 4 weeks (depicted by black horizontal bar with “CORT”), after which they were allowed to recover for an additional 4 weeks (depicted by white horizontal bar with “RECOVERY”). a Weekly plasma CORT levels in the two corticosterone-treated groups (100 μg/ml dose in triangles and 50 μg/ml dose in squares, with dashed lines) compared to vehicle-treated groups (circles, with solid lines). b Expression levels of Fkbp5 in blood across the 8-week experiment. Dose-dependent expression differences were observed only at the fourth week. c and d A time-course change (weeks) in blood DNAm at Fkbp5 intron 1, CpG position 1 c and CpG position 2 d, in which dose-dependent methylation differences were observed between corticosterone-treated and vehicle-treated groups during the 4-week-treatment period and early in the recovery period. Single asterisks (*) indicate differences that are statistically significant (P<0.05). Double asterisks (**) indicate the only time point at week 4 where a statistically significant difference (P<0.05) in expression levels of the Fkbp5 gene was observed between the two CORT-treated groups