The genome-wide landscape of DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation in response to sleep deprivation impacts on synaptic plasticity genes.
Sleep is critical for normal brain function and mental health. However, the molecular mechanisms mediating the impact of sleep loss on both cognition and the sleep electroencephalogram remain mostly unknown. Acute sleep loss impacts brain gene expression broadly. These data contributed to current hypotheses regarding the role for sleep in metabolism, synaptic plasticity and neuroprotection. These changes in gene expression likely underlie increased sleep intensity following sleep deprivation (SD). Here we tested the hypothesis that epigenetic mechanisms coordinate the gene expression response driven by SD. We found that SD altered the cortical genome-wide distribution of two major epigenetic marks: DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation. DNA methylation differences were enriched in gene pathways involved in neuritogenesis and synaptic plasticity, whereas large changes (>4000 sites) in hydroxymethylation where observed in genes linked to cytoskeleton, signaling and neurotransmission, which closely matches SD-dependent changes in the transcriptome. Moreover, this epigenetic remodeling applied to elements previously linked to sleep need (for example, Arc and Egr1) and synaptic partners of Neuroligin-1 (Nlgn1; for example, Dlg4, Nrxn1 and Nlgn3), which we recently identified as a regulator of sleep intensity following SD. We show here that Nlgn1 mutant mice display an enhanced slow-wave slope during non-rapid eye movement sleep following SD but this mutation does not affect SD-dependent changes in gene expression, suggesting that the Nlgn pathway acts downstream to mechanisms triggering gene expression changes in SD. These data reveal that acute SD reprograms the epigenetic landscape, providing a unique molecular route by which sleep can impact brain function and health.
Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
R
R
Massart
1] Department of Neurosciences, Université de Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada [2] Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine and Research Center, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montreal, QC, Canada.
M
M
Freyburger
Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
M
M
Suderman
Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine and Research Center, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montreal, QC, Canada.
J
J
Paquet
Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine and Research Center, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montreal, QC, Canada.
J
J
El Helou
Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine and Research Center, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montreal, QC, Canada.
E
E
Belanger-Nelson
Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine and Research Center, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montreal, QC, Canada.
A
A
Rachalski
Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine and Research Center, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montreal, QC, Canada.
O C
OC
Koumar
1] Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine and Research Center, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montreal, QC, Canada [2] Department of Psychology, Université de Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
J
J
Carrier
1] Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada [2] Sackler Program for Epigenetics and Psychobiology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada [3] Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, ON, Canada.
M
M
Szyf
1] Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine and Research Center, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montreal, QC, Canada [2] Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
V
V
Mongrain
D000818:Animals; D015816:Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal / Q000235:genetics; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D019175:DNA Methylation / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D016678:Genome / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000235:genetics*; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D059467:Transcriptome / Q000235:genetics*
D015816:Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal; C093438:neuroligin 1