RESUMO
Histone acetylation has been implicated with the pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric disorders and targeting histone deacetylases (HDACs) using HDAC inhibitors was shown to be neuroprotective and to initiate neuroregenerative processes. However, little is known about the role of individual HDAC proteins during the pathogenesis of brain diseases. HDAC1 was found to be upregulated in patients suffering from neuropsychiatric diseases. Here, we show that virus-mediated overexpression of neuronal HDAC1 in the adult mouse hippocampus specifically affects the extinction of contextual fear memories, while other cognitive abilities were unaffected. In subsequent experiments we show that under physiological conditions, hippocampal HDAC1 is required for extinction learning via a mechanism that involves H3K9 deacetylation and subsequent trimethylation of target genes. In conclusion, our data show that hippocampal HDAC1 has a specific role in memory function.
Assuntos
Extinção Psicológica/fisiologia , Medo/fisiologia , Histona Desacetilase 1/genética , Histona Desacetilase 1/fisiologia , Estimulação Acústica , Animais , Benzamidas/administração & dosagem , Benzamidas/farmacologia , Western Blotting , Imunoprecipitação da Cromatina , Eletrochoque , Comportamento Exploratório/fisiologia , Hipocampo/citologia , Hipocampo/efeitos dos fármacos , Histona Desacetilase 1/antagonistas & inibidores , Inibidores de Histona Desacetilases/administração & dosagem , Inibidores de Histona Desacetilases/farmacologia , Imuno-Histoquímica , Masculino , Aprendizagem em Labirinto/fisiologia , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Microinjeções , Neurônios/metabolismo , Equilíbrio Postural/fisiologia , Piridinas/administração & dosagem , Piridinas/farmacologia , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase em Tempo Real , Reconhecimento Psicológico/fisiologia , Reflexo de Sobressalto/fisiologia , Natação/psicologiaRESUMO
Aberrant cell-cycle activity and DNA damage are emerging as important pathological components in various neurodegenerative conditions. However, their underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we show that deregulation of histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) activity by p25/Cdk5 induces aberrant cell-cycle activity and double-strand DNA breaks leading to neurotoxicity. In a transgenic model for neurodegeneration, p25/Cdk5 activity elicited cell-cycle activity and double-strand DNA breaks that preceded neuronal death. Inhibition of HDAC1 activity by p25/Cdk5 was identified as an underlying mechanism for these events, and HDAC1 gain of function provided potent protection against DNA damage and neurotoxicity in cultured neurons and an in vivo model for ischemia. Our findings outline a pathological signaling pathway illustrating the importance of maintaining HDAC1 activity in the adult neuron. This pathway constitutes a molecular link between aberrant cell-cycle activity and DNA damage and is a potential target for therapeutics against diseases and conditions involving neuronal death.