DNA methylation in brain development and gliomagenesis

10.2741/1027 ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. s175-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph F Costello
2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming-an Sun ◽  
Zhixiong Sun ◽  
Xiaowei Wu ◽  
Veena Rajaram ◽  
David Keimig ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 369 (1652) ◽  
pp. 20130512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaehoon Shin ◽  
Guo-li Ming ◽  
Hongjun Song

DNA methylation is a crucial epigenetic mark in mammalian development, genomic imprinting, X-inactivation, chromosomal stability and suppressing parasitic DNA elements. DNA methylation in neurons has also been suggested to play important roles for mammalian neuronal functions, and learning and memory. In this review, we first summarize recent discoveries and fundamental principles of DNA modifications in the general epigenetics field. We then describe the profiles of different DNA modifications in the mammalian brain genome. Finally, we discuss roles of DNA modifications in mammalian brain development and function.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonard C Steg ◽  
Gemma L Shireby ◽  
Jennifer Imm ◽  
Jonathan P Davies ◽  
Robert Flynn ◽  
...  

Abstract Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and their differentiated neurons (iPSC-neurons) are a widely used cellular model in the research of the central nervous system. However, it is unknown how well they capture age-associated processes, particularly given that pluripotent cells are only present during the early stages of mammalian development. Epigenetic clocks utilize coordinated age-associated changes in DNA methylation to make predictions that correlate strongly with chronological age, and is has been shown that the induction of pluripotency rejuvenates predicted epigenetic age. As existing clocks are not optimized for the study of brain development, to investigate more precisely the epigenetic age of iPSCs and iPSC-neurons, here, we establish the fetal brain clock (FBC), a bespoke epigenetic clock trained in prenatal neurodevelopmental samples. Our data show that the FBC outperforms other established epigenetic clocks in predicting the age of fetal brain samples. We then applied the FBC to DNA methylation data of cellular datasets that have profiled iPSCs and iPSC-derived neuronal precursor cells and neurons and find that these cell types are characterized by a fetal epigenetic age. Furthermore, while differentiation from iPSCs to neurons significantly increases the epigenetic age, iPSC-neurons are still predicted as having fetal epigenetic age. Together our findings reiterate the need for better understanding of the limitations of existing epigenetic clocks for answering biological research questions and highlight a potential limitation of iPSC-neurons as a cellular model for the research of age-related diseases as they might not fully recapitulate an aged phenotype.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonard C. Steg ◽  
Gemma L. Shireby ◽  
Jennifer Imm ◽  
Jonathan P. Davies ◽  
Robert Flynn ◽  
...  

AbstractInduced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and their differentiated neurons (iPSC-neurons) are a widely used cellular model in the research of the central nervous system. However, it is unknown how well they capture age-associated processes, particularly given that pluripotent cells are only present during the early stages of mammalian development. Epigenetic clocks utilize coordinated age-associated changes in DNA methylation to make predictions that correlate strongly with chronological age, and is has been shown that the induction of pluripotency rejuvenates predicted epigenetic age. As existing clocks are not optimized for the study of brain development, to investigate more precisely the epigenetic age of iPSCs and iPSC-neurons, here, we establish the fetal brain clock (FBC), a bespoke epigenetic clock trained in prenatal neurodevelopmental samples. Our data show that the FBC outperforms other established epigenetic clocks in predicting the age of fetal brain samples. We then applied the FBC to DNA methylation data of cellular datasets that have profiled iPSCs and iPSC-derived neuronal precursor cells and neurons and find that these cell types are characterized by a fetal epigenetic age. Furthermore, while differentiation from iPSCs to neurons significantly increases the epigenetic age, iPSC-neurons are still predicted as having fetal epigenetic age. Together our findings reiterate the need for better understanding of the limitations of existing epigenetic clocks for answering biological research questions and highlight a potential limitation of iPSC-neurons as a cellular model for the research of age-related diseases as they might not fully recapitulate an aged phenotype.


2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 234-237
Author(s):  
Annamaria Srancikova ◽  
Alexandra Reichova ◽  
Zuzana Bacova ◽  
Jan Bakos

Abstract Objectives. The balance between DNA methylation and demethylation is crucial for the brain development. Therefore, alterations in the expression of enzymes controlling DNA methylation patterns may contribute to the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism. SH3 and multiple ankyrin repeat domains 3 (Shank3)-deficient mice are commonly used as a well-characterized transgenic model to investigate the molecular mechanisms of autistic symptoms. DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs), which modulate several cellular processes in neurodevelopment, are implicated in the pathophysiology of autism. In this study, we aimed to describe the gene expression changes of major Dnmts in the brain of Shank3-deficient mice during early development. Methods and Results. The Dnmts gene expression was analyzed by qPCR in 5-day-old homo-zygous Shank3-deficient mice. We found significantly lower Dnmt1 and Dnmt3b gene expression levels in the frontal cortex. However, no such changes were observed in the hippocampus. However, significant increase was observed in the expression of Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b genes in the hypothalamus of Shank3-deficient mice. Conclusions. The present data indicate that abnormalities in the Shank3 gene are accompanied by an altered expression of DNA methylation enzymes in the early brain development stages, therefore, specific epigenetic control mechanisms in autism-relevant models should be more extensively investigated.


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1496-1505 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Tao ◽  
K N Davis ◽  
C Li ◽  
J H Shin ◽  
Y Gao ◽  
...  

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