title: Epigenetic regulation of Arc and c-Fos in the hippocampus after acute electroconvulsive stimulation in the rat.
abstract: Electroconvulsive stimulation (ECS) remains one of the most effective treatments of major depression. However, the underlying molecular changes still remain to be elucidated. Since ECS causes rapid and significant changes in gene expression we have looked at epigenetic regulation of two important immediate early genes that are both induced after ECS: c-Fos and Arc. We examined Arc and c-Fos protein expression and found Arc present over 4 h, in contrast to c-Fos presence lasting only 1 h. Both genes had returned to baseline expression at 24 h post-ECS. Histone H4 acetylation (H4Ac) is one of the important epigenetic marks associated with gene activation. We show increased H4Ac at the c-Fos promoter at 1 h post-ECS. Surprisingly, we also observed a significant increase in DNA methylation of the Arc gene promoter at 24 h post-ECS. DNA methylation, which is responsible for gene silencing, is a rather stable covalent modification. This suggests that Arc expression has been repressed and may consequently remain inhibited for a prolonged period post-ECS. Arc plays a critical role in the maintenance phase of long-term potentiation (LTP) and consolidation of memory in the rat brain. Thus, this study is one of the first to demonstrate DNA methylation as a regulator of ECS-induced gene expression and it provides a molecular link to the memory deficits observed after ECS.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurobiology, Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Mads
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dyrvig
authors.forename: Henrik H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: Søren H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Christiansen
authors.forename: David P D
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Woldbye
authors.forename: Jens D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Mikkelsen
authors.forename: Jacek
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lichota
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D019175:DNA Methylation / Q000235:genetics; D004597:Electroshock / Q000379:methods; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; C092069:activity regulated cytoskeletal-associated protein