De novo DNA methylation controls neuronal maturation during adult hippocampal neurogenesis

Autor: Kristian Händler, Gabriel Berdugo-Vega, Anne Karasinsky, Vijay S. Adusumilli, Christina Steinhauer, Sina Scheibenstock, Gerd Kempermann, Joachim L. Schultze, Sara Zocher, Federico Calegari, Rupert W. Overall, Nicole Rund
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: The EMBO Journal
The EMBO journal 40(18), e107100 (2021). doi:10.15252/embj.2020107100
ISSN: 1460-2075
Popis: Adult neurogenesis enables the life‐long addition of functional neurons to the hippocampus and is regulated by both cell‐intrinsic molecular programs and behavioral activity. De novo DNA methylation is crucial for embryonic brain development, but its role during adult hippocampal neurogenesis has remained unknown. Here, we show that de novo DNA methylation is critical for maturation and functional integration of adult‐born neurons in the mouse hippocampus. Bisulfite sequencing revealed that de novo DNA methyltransferases target neuronal enhancers and gene bodies during adult hippocampal neural stem cell differentiation, to establish neuronal methylomes and facilitate transcriptional up‐regulation of neuronal genes. Inducible deletion of both de novo DNA methyltransferases Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b in adult neural stem cells did not affect proliferation or fate specification, but specifically impaired dendritic outgrowth and synaptogenesis of newborn neurons, thereby hampering their functional maturation. Consequently, abolishing de novo DNA methylation modulated activation patterns in the hippocampal circuitry and caused specific deficits in hippocampus‐dependent learning and memory. Our results demonstrate that proper establishment of neuronal methylomes during adult neurogenesis is fundamental for hippocampal function.
Ablation of DNA methyltransferases Dnmt3a/b shows that de novo DNA methylation is not needed for adult neural stem cell proliferation and fate determination, but for morphological and functional maturation of adult‐born neurons in the hippocampus.
Databáze: OpenAIRE