RESUMEN
It has long been assumed that lifespan and healthspan correlate strongly, yet the two can be clearly dissociated1-6. Although there has been a global increase in human life expectancy, increasing longevity is rarely accompanied by an extended healthspan4,7. Thus, understanding the origin of healthy behaviours in old people remains an important and challenging task. Here we report a conserved epigenetic mechanism underlying healthy ageing. Through genome-wide RNA-interference-based screening of genes that regulate behavioural deterioration in ageing Caenorhabditis elegans, we identify 59 genes as potential modulators of the rate of age-related behavioural deterioration. Among these modulators, we found that a neuronal epigenetic reader, BAZ-2, and a neuronal histone 3 lysine 9 methyltransferase, SET-6, accelerate behavioural deterioration in C. elegans by reducing mitochondrial function, repressing the expression of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins. This mechanism is conserved in cultured mouse neurons and human cells. Examination of human databases8,9 shows that expression of the human orthologues of these C. elegans regulators, BAZ2B and EHMT1, in the frontal cortex increases with age and correlates positively with the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Furthermore, ablation of Baz2b, the mouse orthologue of BAZ-2, attenuates age-dependent body-weight gain and prevents cognitive decline in ageing mice. Thus our genome-wide RNA-interference screen in C. elegans has unravelled conserved epigenetic negative regulators of ageing, suggesting possible ways to achieve healthy ageing.
Asunto(s)
Proteínas de Caenorhabditis elegans/metabolismo , Caenorhabditis elegans/genética , Epigénesis Genética , Envejecimiento Saludable/genética , N-Metiltransferasa de Histona-Lisina/metabolismo , Factores Generales de Transcripción/metabolismo , Envejecimiento/genética , Animales , Proteínas de Caenorhabditis elegans/genética , Cognición , Disfunción Cognitiva , N-Metiltransferasa de Histona-Lisina/deficiencia , N-Metiltransferasa de Histona-Lisina/genética , Histonas/química , Histonas/metabolismo , Humanos , Longevidad/genética , Lisina/metabolismo , Masculino , Memoria , Metilación , Ratones , Mitocondrias/metabolismo , Neuronas/metabolismo , Proteínas/genética , Interferencia de ARN , Aprendizaje Espacial , Factores Generales de Transcripción/deficiencia , Factores Generales de Transcripción/genéticaRESUMEN
Transcription and regulation of genes originate from transcription pre-initiation complexes (PICs). Their structural and positional organization across eukaryotic genomes is unknown. Here we applied lambda exonuclease to chromatin immunoprecipitates (termed ChIP-exo) to examine the precise location of 6,045 PICs in Saccharomyces. PICs, including RNA polymerase II and protein complexes TFIIA, TFIIB, TFIID (or TBP), TFIIE, TFIIF, TFIIH and TFIIK were positioned within promoters and excluded from coding regions. Exonuclease patterns were in agreement with crystallographic models of the PIC, and were sufficiently precise to identify TATA-like elements at so-called TATA-less promoters. These PICs and their transcription start sites were positionally constrained at TFIID-engaged downstream +1 nucleosomes. At TATA-box-containing promoters, which are depleted of TFIID, a +1 nucleosome was positioned to be in competition with the PIC, which may allow greater latitude in start-site selection. Our genomic localization of messenger RNA and non-coding RNA PICs reveals that two PICs, in inverted orientation, may occupy the flanking borders of nucleosome-free regions. Their unambiguous detection may help distinguish bona fide genes from transcriptional noise.
