The histone demethylase 7A regulates immediate early genes in neurons [ChIP-seq]
There are multiple post-translational modifications on amino acid residues at the N-terminus of histones that affect the structure of chromatin and alter the transcription of genes, thereby regulating a variety of biological processes. Lysine demethylase 7A (KDM7A) mainly removes histone modifications such as H3K9me1/2 and H3K27me1/2. Current research on KDM7A has focused on tumors, metabolism and development, while research on the function of the mammalian nervous system is still lacking. The functions and mechanisms of KDM7A in the regulation of neuronal cell differentiation and cell activity in the nervous system were investigated. Our study found that KDM7A regulates H3K9me2 and H3K27me2 but also affects other inhibitory or active histones, such as H3K9me3 and H3K27ac, thereby disturbing the transcription of some immediate early genes (IEGs) and consequently affecting the differentiation and activity of neuronal cells. IEGs are important for neuron cell proliferation, differentiation, formation of dendrites and neural circuit-related proteins, which are involved in maintaining the normal function of the nervous system. Imbalances in IEG expression have been found in some neurological disorders, such as depression and schizophrenia. Moreover, the changes in various histone modifications in neurodegenerative diseases and brain injury have recently received increasing attention. Therefore, our study provides a basis for revealing the epigenetic regulatory mechanisms of neurological disorders. Overall design: Chromatin immunoprecipitation DNA-sequencing (ChIP-seq) for KDM7A  in N2a cells and histone modifications H3K9me2  in shCtrl or shKdm7a N2a cells.