Dataset Information

The 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) Reader UHRF2 Is Required for Normal Levels of 5hmC in Mouse Adult Brain and Spatial Learning and Memory.

ABSTRACT: UHRF2 has been implicated as a novel regulator for both DNA methylation (5mC) and hydroxymethylation (5hmC), but its physiological function and role in DNA methylation/hydroxymethylation are unknown. Here we show that in mice, UHRF2 is more abundantly expressed in the brain and a few other tissues. Uhrf2 knock-out mice are viable and fertile and exhibit no gross defect. Although there is no significant change of DNA methylation, the Uhrf2 null mice exhibit a reduction of 5hmC in the brain, including the cortex and hippocampus. Furthermore, the Uhrf2 null mice exhibit a partial impairment in spatial memory acquisition and retention. Consistent with the phenotype, gene expression profiling uncovers a role for UHRF2 in regulating neuron-related gene expression. Finally, we provide evidence that UHRF2 binds 5hmC in cells but does not appear to affect the TET1 enzymatic activity. Together, our study supports UHRF2 as a bona fide 5hmC reader and further demonstrates a role for 5hmC in neuronal function.

SUBMITTER: Chen R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5377770 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) Reader UHRF2 Is Required for Normal Levels of 5hmC in Mouse Adult Brain and Spatial Learning and Memory.

Chen Ruoyu R Zhang Qiao Q Duan Xiaoya X York Philippe P Chen Guo-Dong GD Yin Pengcheng P Zhu Haijun H Xu Meichen M Chen Peilin P Wu Qihan Q Li Dali D Samarut Jacques J Xu Guoliang G Zhang Pumin P Cao Xiaohua X Li Jiwen J Wong Jiemin J

The Journal of biological chemistry 20170123 11

UHRF2 has been implicated as a novel regulator for both DNA methylation (5mC) and hydroxymethylation (5hmC), but its physiological function and role in DNA methylation/hydroxymethylation are unknown. Here we show that in mice, UHRF2 is more abundantly expressed in the brain and a few other tissues. <i>Uhrf2</i> knock-out mice are viable and fertile and exhibit no gross defect. Although there is no significant change of DNA methylation, the <i>Uhrf2</i> null mice exhibit a reduction of 5hmC in th ...[more]

PMID: 28115522

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Project description:BackgroundDNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism essential for gene regulation and vital for mammalian development. 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) is the first oxidative product of the TET-mediated 5-methylcytosine (5mC) demethylation pathway. Aside from being a key intermediate in cytosine demethylation, 5hmC may have potential regulatory functions with emerging importance in mammalian biology.MethodsHere, we investigate the global 5hmC enrichment in five brain structures, including cerebellum, cerebral cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus and thalamus, as well as liver tissues from female and male adult mice by using chemical capture-based technique coupled with next-generation sequencing. At the same time, we carried out total RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to analyze the transcriptomes of brain regions and liver tissues.ResultsOur results reveal preferential 5hmC enrichment in the gene bodies of expressed genes, and 5hmC levels of many protein-coding genes are positively correlated with RNA expression intensity. However, more than 75% of genes with low or no 5hmC enrichment are genes encode for mitochondrial proteins and ribosomal proteins despite being actively transcribed, implying different transcriptional regulation mechanisms of these housekeeping genes. Brain regions developed from the same embryonic structures have more similar 5hmC profiles. Also, the genic 5hmC enrichment pattern is highly tissue-specific, and 5hmC marks genes involving in tissue-specific biological processes. Sex chromosomes are mostly depleted of 5hmC, and the X inactive specific transcript (Xist) gene located on the X chromosome is the only gene to show sex-specific 5hmC enrichment.ConclusionsThis is the first report of the whole-genome 5hmC methylome of five major brain structures and liver tissues in mice of both sexes. This study offers a comprehensive resource for future work of mammalian cytosine methylation dynamics. Our findings offer additional evidence that suggests 5hmC is an active epigenetic mark stably maintained after the global reprogramming event during early embryonic development.

Project description:DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation have been implicated in the regulatory dynamics of gene expression in normal development and differentiation. 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), created by the ten-eleven translocation (TET) protein-catalyzed oxidation of 5-methylcytosine (5mC), is abundant in the brain, but the genome-wide distribution and impact of 5hmC during diverse neuronal differentiation remain unknown. Here, we used an in vitro model to differentiate mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) into ventral midbrain and hindbrain neural progenitors, followed by characterizing global 5hmC distribution using a nano-5hmC-seal approach. The 5hmC pattern was dynamic in promoter, exon, and enhancer regions, associated with gene activation and repression. For example, ventral midbrain markers (Lmx1a, Otx2, and Th) and hindbrain markers (Hoxa1, Zic1, and Tph1) acquire 5hmC and are upregulated during differentiation. Among the differentially expressed genes involved in both midbrain and hindbrain lineage commitment, phosphatase and tensin homolog (Pten) was identified as a key regulator for neuronal development. We confirmed that Pten knockout disrupted the normal differentiation of midbrain/hindbrain neural progenitors, resulting in immature neurons. In addition, 5421 and 4624 differentially hydroxymethylated regions (DhMRs) were identified in the differentiation of Pten-/- mESC into ventral midbrain and hindbrain progenitors, respectively. Gene ontology analysis showed that the majority of these DhMRs were associated with neurogenesis, ectoderm development, and signal transduction. Moreover, further combinational analysis of the 5hmC pattern and transcriptomic profile in the midbrain progenitor cells demonstrated Pten as a toggle to modulate mitochondrial associated pathways. Therefore, our findings elucidated the molecular mechanisms underlying lineage-specific differentiation of pluripotent stem cells to the midbrain/hindbrain progenitors, where Pten participates as one key regulator.

Project description:BackgroundPrognostic tools for prostate cancer (PC) are inadequate and new molecular biomarkers may improve risk stratification. The epigenetic mark 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) has recently been proposed as a novel candidate prognostic biomarker in several malignancies including PC. 5hmC is an oxidized derivative of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) and can be further oxidized to 5-formylcytosine (5fC) and 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC). The present study is the first to investigate the biomarker potential in PC for all four DNA methylation marks in parallel. Thus, we determined 5mC, 5hmC, 5fC, and 5caC levels in non-malignant (NM) and PC tissue samples from a large radical prostatectomy (RP) patient cohort (n = 546) by immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis of serial sections of a tissue microarray. Possible associations between methylation marks, routine clinicopathological parameters, ERG status, and biochemical recurrence (BCR) after RP were investigated.Results5mC and 5hmC levels were significantly reduced in PC compared to NM prostate tissue samples (p ≤ 0.027) due to a global loss of both marks specifically in ERG- PCs. 5fC levels were significantly increased in ERG+ PCs (p = 0.004), whereas 5caC levels were elevated in both ERG- and ERG+ PCs compared with NM prostate tissue samples (p ≤ 0.019). Positive correlations were observed between 5mC, 5fC, and 5caC levels in both NM and PC tissues (p < 0.001), while 5hmC levels were only weakly positively correlated to 5mC in the PC subset (p = 0.030). There were no significant associations between 5mC, 5fC, or ERG status and time to BCR in this RP cohort. In contrast, high 5hmC levels were associated with BCR in ERG- PCs (p = 0.043), while high 5caC levels were associated with favorable prognosis in ERG+ PCs (p = 0.011) and were borderline significantly associated with worse prognosis in ERG- PCs (p = 0.058). Moreover, a combined high-5hmC/high-5caC score was a significant adverse predictor of post-operative BCR beyond routine clinicopathological variables in ERG- PCs (hazard ratio 3.18 (1.54-6.56), p = 0.002, multivariate Cox regression).ConclusionsThis is the first comprehensive study of 5mC, 5hmC, 5fC, and 5caC levels in PC and the first report of a significant prognostic potential for 5caC in PC.

Dataset Information

The 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) Reader UHRF2 Is Required for Normal Levels of 5hmC in Mouse Adult Brain and Spatial Learning and Memory.

Publications

The 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) Reader UHRF2 Is Required for Normal Levels of 5hmC in Mouse Adult Brain and Spatial Learning and Memory.

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