Dataset Information

Differential Glial Activation in Early Epileptogenesis-Insights From Cell-Specific Analysis of DNA Methylation and Gene Expression in the Contralateral Hippocampus.

ABSTRACT: Background and Aims: Morphological changes in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (mTLE-HS) are well-characterized. Yet, it remains elusive whether these are a consequence of seizures or originate from a hitherto unknown underlying pathology. We recently published data on changes in gene expression and DNA methylation in the ipsilateral hippocampus (ILH) using the intracortical kainate mouse model of mTLE-HS. In order to explore the effects of epileptic activity alone and also to further disentangle what triggers morphological alterations, we investigated glial and neuronal changes in gene expression and DNA methylation in the contralateral hippocampus (CLH). Methods: The intracortical kainic acid mouse model of mTLE-HS was used to elicit status epilepticus. Hippocampi contralateral to the injection site from eight kainate-injected and eight sham mice were extracted and shock frozen at 24 h post-injection. Glial and neuronal nuclei were sorted by flow cytometry. Alterations in gene expression and DNA methylation were assessed using reduced representation bisulfite sequencing and RNA sequencing. The R package edgeR was used for statistical analysis. Results: The CLH featured substantial, mostly cell-specific changes in both gene expression and DNA methylation in glia and neurons. While changes in gene expression overlapped to a great degree between CLH and ILH, alterations in DNA methylation did not. In the CLH, we found a significantly lower number of glial genes up- and downregulated compared to previous results from the ILH. Furthermore, several genes and pathways potentially involved in anti-epileptogenic effects were upregulated in the CLH. By comparing gene expression data from the CLH to previous results from the ILH (featuring hippocampal sclerosis), we derive potential upstream targets for epileptogenesis, including glial Cox2 and Cxcl10. Conclusion: Despite the absence of morphological changes, the CLH displays substantial changes in gene expression and DNA methylation. We find that gene expression changes related to potential anti-epileptogenic effects seem to dominate compared to the pro-epileptogenic effects in the CLH and speculate whether this imbalance contributes to prevent morphological alterations like neuronal death and reactive gliosis.

SUBMITTER: Berger TC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7702971 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Differential Glial Activation in Early Epileptogenesis-Insights From Cell-Specific Analysis of DNA Methylation and Gene Expression in the Contralateral Hippocampus.

Berger Toni C TC Vigeland Magnus D MD Hjorthaug Hanne S HS Nome Cecilie G CG Taubøll Erik E Selmer Kaja K KK Heuser Kjell K

Frontiers in neurology 20201116

<b>Background and Aims:</b> Morphological changes in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (mTLE-HS) are well-characterized. Yet, it remains elusive whether these are a consequence of seizures or originate from a hitherto unknown underlying pathology. We recently published data on changes in gene expression and DNA methylation in the ipsilateral hippocampus (ILH) using the intracortical kainate mouse model of mTLE-HS. In order to explore the effects of epileptic activity alone ...[more]

PMID: 33312155

Similar Datasets

Project description:Morphological changes in mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy with Hippocampal Sclerosis (mTLE-HS) are well characterized. Yet it remains elusive whether these are a consequence of seizures or originate from a hitherto unknown underlying pathology. We recently published data on changes in gene expression (GE) and DNA methylation (DNAm) in the ipsilateral hippocampus (ILH), using the intracortical kainate mouse model of mTLE-HS. In order to explore the effects of epileptic activity alone and also to further disentangle what triggers morphological alterations, we investigated glial and neuronal changes in GE and DNAm in the contralateral hippocampus (CLH). The intracortical kainic acid mouse model of mTLE-HS was used to elicit status epilepticus. Hippocampi contralateral to injection site from 8 kainate injected (KA) and 8 sham (SH) mice were extracted, and shock frozen at 24 hours post injection. Glial- and neuronal nuclei were sorted by flow cytometry. Alterations in GE and DNAm were assessed using reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) and RNA sequencing (RNAseq). The R package edgeR was used for statistical analysis. The CLH featured substantial, mostly cell-specific changes in both GE and DNAm in glia and neurons. While changes in GE overlapped to a great degree between CLH and ILH, alterations in DNAm did not. In the CLH we found a significantly lower number of glial genes up- and downregulated compared to previous results from the ILH. Furthermore, several genes and pathways potentially involved in anti-epileptogenic effects were upregulated in the CLH. By comparing GE data from the CLH to previous results from the ILH (featuring hippocampal sclerosis), we derive potential upstream targets for epileptogenesis, including glial Cox2 and Cxcl10. Despite the absence of morphological changes, the CLH displays substantial changes in GE and DNAm. We find that GE changes related to potential anti-epileptogenic effects seem to dominate compared to pro-epileptogenic effects in the CLH and speculate whether this imbalance contributes to prevent morphological alterations like neuronal death and reactive gliosis.

Project description:Enhanced levels of Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of epilepsy in humans and rodents. Lack of Mmp-9 impoverishes, whereas excess of Mmp-9 facilitates epileptogenesis. Epigenetic mechanisms driving the epileptogenesis-related upregulation of MMP-9 expression are virtually unknown. The aim of this study was to reveal these mechanisms. We analyzed hippocampi extracted from adult and pediatric patients with temporal lobe epilepsy as well as from partially and fully pentylenetetrazole kindled rats. We used a unique approach to the analysis of the kindling model results (inclusion in the analysis of rats being during kindling, and not only a group of fully kindled animals), which allowed us to separate the molecular effects exerted by the epileptogenesis from those related to epilepsy and epileptic activity. Consequently, it allowed for a disclosure of molecular mechanisms underlying causes, and not consequences, of epilepsy. Our data show that the epileptogenesis-evoked upregulation of Mmp-9 expression is regulated by removal from Mmp-9 gene proximal promoter of the two, interweaved potent silencing mechanisms-DNA methylation and Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2)-related repression. Demethylation depends on a gradual dissociation of the DNA methyltransferases, Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b, and on progressive association of the DNA demethylation promoting protein Gadd45? to Mmp-9 proximal gene promoter in vivo. The PRC2-related mechanism relies on dissociation of the repressive transcription factor YY1 and the dissipation of the PRC2-evoked trimethylation on Lys27 of the histone H3 from the proximal Mmp-9 promoter chromatin in vivo. Moreover, we show that the DNA hydroxymethylation, a new epigenetic DNA modification, which is localized predominantly in the gene promoters and is particularly abundant in the brain, is not involved in a regulation of MMP-9 expression during the epileptogenesis in the rat hippocampus as well as in the hippocampi of pediatric and adult epileptic patients. Additionally, we have also found that despite of its transient nature, the histone modification H3S10ph is strongly and gradually accumulated during epileptogenesis in the cell nuclei and in the proximal Mmp-9 gene promoter in the hippocampus, which suggests that H3S10ph can be involved in DNA demethylation in mammals, and not only in Neurospora. The study identifies MMP-9 as the first protein coding gene which expression is regulated by DNA methylation in human epilepsy. We present a detailed epigenetic model of the epileptogenesis-evoked upregulation of MMP-9 expression in the hippocampus. To our knowledge, it is the most complex and most detailed mechanism of epigenetic regulation of gene expression ever revealed for a particular gene in epileptogenesis. Our results also suggest for the first time that dysregulation of DNA methylation found in epilepsy is a cause rather than a consequence of this condition.

Dataset Information

Differential Glial Activation in Early Epileptogenesis-Insights From Cell-Specific Analysis of DNA Methylation and Gene Expression in the Contralateral Hippocampus.

Publications

Differential Glial Activation in Early Epileptogenesis-Insights From Cell-Specific Analysis of DNA Methylation and Gene Expression in the Contralateral Hippocampus.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets