title: CDKL5 is a brain MeCP2 target gene regulated by DNA methylation.
abstract: Rett syndrome and its "early-onset seizure" variant are severe neurodevelopmental disorders associated with mutations within the MECP2 and the CDKL5 genes. Antidepressants and drugs of abuse induce the expression of the epigenetic factor MeCP2, thereby influencing chromatin remodeling. We show that increased MeCP2 levels resulted in the repression of Cdkl5 in rat brain structures in response to cocaine, as well as in cells exposed to serotonin, or overexpressing MeCP2. In contrast, Cdkl5 was induced by siRNA-mediated knockdown of Mecp2 and by DNA-methyltransferase inhibitors, demonstrating its regulation by MeCP2 and by DNA methylation. Cdkl5 gene methylation and its methylation-dependent binding to MeCP2 were increased in the striatum of cocaine-treated rats. Our data demonstrate that Cdkl5 is a MeCP2-repressed target gene providing a link between genes the mutation of which generates overlapping symptoms. They highlight DNA methylation changes as a potential mechanism participating in the long-term plasticity triggered by pharmacological agents.
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U575, Université de Strasbourg, Centre de Neurochimie, 67084 Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Delphine
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Carouge
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Host
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Aunis
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zwiller
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Anglard
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D003042:Cocaine / Q000494:pharmacology; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D019175:DNA Methylation; D015257:DNA-Cytosine Methylases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D018765:Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D008297:Male; D051783:Methyl-CpG-Binding Protein 2 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D016716:PC12 Cells; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018765:Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors; C497394:Mecp2 protein, rat; D051783:Methyl-CpG-Binding Protein 2; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D012701:Serotonin; D015257:DNA-Cytosine Methylases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; C551435:CDKL5 protein, rat; D003042:Cocaine