title: MeCP2 and the enigmatic organization of brain chromatin. Implications for depression and cocaine addiction.
abstract: Methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) is a highly abundant chromosomal protein within the brain. It is hence not surprising that perturbations in its genome-wide distribution, and at particular loci within this tissue, can result in widespread neurological disorders that transcend the early implications of this protein in Rett syndrome (RTT). Yet, the details of its role and involvement in chromatin organization are still poorly understood. This paper focuses on what is known to date about all of this with special emphasis on the relation to different epigenetic modifications (DNA methylation, histone acetylation/ubiquitination, MeCP2 phosphorylation and miRNA). We showcase all of the above in two particular important neurological functional alterations in the brain: depression (major depressive disorder [MDD]) and cocaine addiction, both of which affect the MeCP2 homeostasis and result in significant changes in the overall levels of these epigenetic marks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 3P6 Canada.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ausió
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D002843:Chromatin / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D019175:DNA Methylation; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D006801:Humans; D051783:Methyl-CpG-Binding Protein 2 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics; D010766:Phosphorylation; D015518:Rett Syndrome / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; C497392:MECP2 protein, human; D051783:Methyl-CpG-Binding Protein 2; D035683:MicroRNAs