title: Age-related changes in Egr1 transcription and DNA methylation within the hippocampus.
abstract: Aged animals show functional alterations in hippocampal neurons that lead to deficits in synaptic plasticity and changes in cognitive function. Transcription of immediate-early genes (IEGs), including Egr1, is necessary for processes such as long-term potentiation and memory consolidation. Here, we show an age-related reduction in the transcription of Egr1 in the dentate gyrus following spatial behavior, whereas in the area CA1, Egr1 is reduced at rest, but its transcription can be effectively driven by spatial behavior to levels equivalent to those observed in adult animals. One mechanism possibly contributing to these aging-related changes is an age-associated, CpG site-specific change in methylation in DNA associated with the promoter region of the Egr1 gene. Our results add to a growing body of work demonstrating that complex transcriptional and epigenetic changes in the hippocampus significantly contribute to brain and cognitive aging. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Evelyn F McKnight Brain Institute and Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Penner
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology and Evelyn F McKnight Brain Institute, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Parrish
authors.affiliation: Evelyn F McKnight Brain Institute and Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
authors.forename: L T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Hoang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware.
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Roth
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology and Evelyn F McKnight Brain Institute, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
authors.forename: F D
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Lubin
authors.affiliation: Evelyn F McKnight Brain Institute and Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.|Department Psychology, Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Barnes
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000523:psychology; D000818:Animals; D056547:CA1 Region, Hippocampal / Q000378:metabolism*; D018899:CpG Islands; D019175:DNA Methylation; D018891:Dentate Gyrus / Q000378:metabolism*; D051766:Early Growth Response Protein 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D065852:Spatial Memory / Q000502:physiology; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D051766:Early Growth Response Protein 1; C486110:Egr1 protein, rat; D012333:RNA, Messenger
keywords: aging; epigenetic modulation; memory; transcriptional regulation