Genome-wide DNA hydroxymethylation changes are associated with neurodevelopmental genes in the developing human brain
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ABSTRACT: 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) is a newly discovered modified form of cytosine that has been suspected to be an important epigenetic modification in neurodevelopment. While DNA methylation dynamics have already been implicated during neurodevelopment, little is known about hydroxymethylation in this process. Here we report DNA hydroxymethylation dynamics during cerebellum development in the human brain. Overall, we find a positive correlation between 5-hmC levels and cerebellum development. Genome-wide profiling reveals that 5-hmC is highly enriched on specific gene regions, including exons and especially the untranslated regions (UTRs), but it is depleted on introns and intergenic regions. Furthermore, we have identified fetus-specific and adult-specific differentially hydroxymethylated regions (DhMRs), most of which overlap with genes and CpG island shores. Surprisingly, during development DhMRs are highly enriched in genes encoding mRNAs that can be regulated by fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), some of which are disrupted in autism, as well as in many known autism genes. Our results suggest that 5-hmC-mediated epigenetic regulation may broadly impact the development of the human brain, and its dysregulation could contribute to the molecular pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders. We generated comprehensive genome-wide profiles of 5hmC in human cerebellum.
Project description:5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) is a newly discovered modified form of cytosine that has been suspected to be an important epigenetic modification in neurodevelopment. While DNA methylation dynamics have already been implicated during neurodevelopment, little is known about hydroxymethylation in this process. Here we report DNA hydroxymethylation dynamics during cerebellum development in the human brain. Overall, we find a positive correlation between 5-hmC levels and cerebellum development. Genome-wide profiling reveals that 5-hmC is highly enriched on specific gene regions, including exons and especially the untranslated regions (UTRs), but it is depleted on introns and intergenic regions. Furthermore, we have identified fetus-specific and adult-specific differentially hydroxymethylated regions (DhMRs), most of which overlap with genes and CpG island shores. Surprisingly, during development DhMRs are highly enriched in genes encoding mRNAs that can be regulated by fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), some of which are disrupted in autism, as well as in many known autism genes. Our results suggest that 5-hmC-mediated epigenetic regulation may broadly impact the development of the human brain, and its dysregulation could contribute to the molecular pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders.
Project description:DNA methylation dynamics influence brain function and are altered in neurological disorders. 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC), a DNA base derived from 5-methylcytosine (5mC) accounts for ~40% of modified cytosine in brain, and has been implicated in DNA methylation-related plasticity. Here we map 5-hmC genome-wide across three ages in mouse hippocampus and cerebellum, allowing assessment of its stability and dynamic regulation during postnatal neurodevelopment through adulthood. We find developmentally programmed acquisition of 5-hmC in neuronal cells. Epigenomic localization of 5-hmC-regulated regions reveals stable and dynamically modified loci during neurodevelopment and aging. By profiling 5-hmC in human cerebellum we establish conserved genomic features of 5-hmC. Finally, we implicate 5-hmC in neurodevelopmental disease by finding that its levels are inversely correlated with methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (Mecp2) dosage, a protein encoded by a gene in which mutations cause Rett Syndrome. These data point toward critical roles for 5-hmC-mediated epigenetic modification in neurodevelopment and diseases. Here we map 5-hmC genome-wide across three ages in mouse hippocampus and cerebellum, allowing assessment of its stability and dynamic regulation during postnatal neurodevelopment through adulthood. Profiling of 5-hmC in human cerebellum we establish conserved genomic features of 5-hmC. Finally, we implicate 5-hmC in neurodevelopmental disease by profiling 5-hmC in mouse cerebellum lacking MeCP2, a protein encoded by a gene in which mutations cause Rett Syndrome.
Project description:DNA methylation dynamics influence brain function and are altered in neurological disorders. 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC), a DNA base derived from 5-methylcytosine (5mC) accounts for ~40% of modified cytosine in brain, and has been implicated in DNA methylation-related plasticity. Here we map 5-hmC genome-wide across three ages in mouse hippocampus and cerebellum, allowing assessment of its stability and dynamic regulation during postnatal neurodevelopment through adulthood. We find developmentally programmed acquisition of 5-hmC in neuronal cells. Epigenomic localization of 5-hmC-regulated regions reveals stable and dynamically modified loci during neurodevelopment and aging. By profiling 5-hmC in human cerebellum we establish conserved genomic features of 5-hmC. Finally, we implicate 5-hmC in neurodevelopmental disease by finding that its levels are inversely correlated with methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (Mecp2) dosage, a protein encoded by a gene in which mutations cause Rett Syndrome. These data point toward critical roles for 5-hmC-mediated epigenetic modification in neurodevelopment and diseases. Gene expression data derived from P7 and 6wk mouse cerebellum used for determining expression outcomes associated with dynamic alterations in 5-hydroxymethylcytosine
Project description:DNA methylation dynamics influence brain function and are altered in neurological disorders. 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC), a DNA base derived from 5-methylcytosine (5mC) accounts for ~40% of modified cytosine in brain, and has been implicated in DNA methylation-related plasticity. Here we map 5-hmC genome-wide across three ages in mouse hippocampus and cerebellum, allowing assessment of its stability and dynamic regulation during postnatal neurodevelopment through adulthood. We find developmentally programmed acquisition of 5-hmC in neuronal cells. Epigenomic localization of 5-hmC-regulated regions reveals stable and dynamically modified loci during neurodevelopment and aging. By profiling 5-hmC in human cerebellum we establish conserved genomic features of 5-hmC. Finally, we implicate 5-hmC in neurodevelopmental disease by finding that its levels are inversely correlated with methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (Mecp2) dosage, a protein encoded by a gene in which mutations cause Rett Syndrome. These data point toward critical roles for 5-hmC-mediated epigenetic modification in neurodevelopment and diseases.
Project description:DNA methylation dynamics influence brain function and are altered in neurological disorders. 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC), a DNA base derived from 5-methylcytosine (5mC) accounts for ~40% of modified cytosine in brain, and has been implicated in DNA methylation-related plasticity. Here we map 5-hmC genome-wide across three ages in mouse hippocampus and cerebellum, allowing assessment of its stability and dynamic regulation during postnatal neurodevelopment through adulthood. We find developmentally programmed acquisition of 5-hmC in neuronal cells. Epigenomic localization of 5-hmC-regulated regions reveals stable and dynamically modified loci during neurodevelopment and aging. By profiling 5-hmC in human cerebellum we establish conserved genomic features of 5-hmC. Finally, we implicate 5-hmC in neurodevelopmental disease by finding that its levels are inversely correlated with methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (Mecp2) dosage, a protein encoded by a gene in which mutations cause Rett Syndrome. These data point toward critical roles for 5-hmC-mediated epigenetic modification in neurodevelopment and diseases.
Project description:5-Hydroxymethylcytosine (hmC) is particularly abundant in mammalian brains with yetto be revealed functions. Here, we present genome-wide and single-base-resolutionmaps of hmC and mC in the human brain. We demonstrated that hmCs increasemarkedly from the fetal to the adult stage, and in the adult brain, 13.4% of all CpGs arehighly hydroxymethylated with strong enrichment at genic regions and distal regulatoryelements. Notably, hmC peaks were identified at the 5' splicing sites at the exon-intronboundary, suggesting a mechanistic link between hmC and splicing. We also report asurprising transcription-correlated hmC bias toward the sense strand and an mC biastoward the antisense strand of gene bodies. Furthermore, hmC is negatively correlatedwith H3K27me3-marked repressive genomic regions, and is more enriched in poisedenhancers than active enhancers. Our results provide insights into understanding themultiple potential functions of hmC in the human brain. A cell type specific hydroxymethylome sample of NeuN+ neurons in frontal lobe from the same adult individual, whose TAB-Seq data was deposited in GSE46710
Project description:Background: 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) is a recently discovered epigenetic modification that is altered in cancers. Genome wide assays for 5-hmC determination are needed as many of the techniques commonly used to assay 5-methylcytosine (5-mC), including conventional methyl-sensitive restriction digest and bisulfite sequencing, are incapable of distinguishing between 5-mC and 5-hmC. Results: Glycosylation of 5-hmC residues by beta-Glucosyl Transferase (beta-GT) can make CCGG residues insensitive to digestion by MspI. We used this premise to modify the HELP-tagging assay to identify both 5-mC and 5-hmC loci in the genome. Comparison of sequencing libraries after HpaII, MspI and MspI+ beta-GT conversion resulted in locus specific 5-mC and 5-hmC determination. A custom bioinformatics pipeline was created to identify 5-hmC sites that were validated at global level by LS-MS and the locus specific level by qRT-PCR of 5-hmC pulldown DNA. Hydroxymethylation at both promoter and intragenic locations correlated positively with gene expression. Analysis of pancreatic cancer samples revealed striking redistribution of 5-hmC sites in cancer cells and demonstrated enrichment of this modification at many oncogenic promoters such as GATA6. Conclusions: The HELP-GT assay allows a high resolution, simultaneous determination of 5-hmC and 5-mC loci from small amounts of DNA with the utilisation of modest sequencing resources. Redistribution of 5-hmC seen in cancer highlights the importance of examining this modification in conjugation with conventional methylome analysis. We did methylation and hydroxymethylation tests for one control and two pancreatic cancer cases
Project description:5-methylcytosine (5-mC) can be oxidized to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC). Genome-wide profiling of 5-hmC thus far indicated 5-hmC may not only be an intermediate form of DNA demethylation but could also constitute an epigenetic mark per se. We describe a cost-effective and selective method to detect both the hydroxymethylation and methylation status of cytosines in more than 1.8 million MspI sites in the human genome. This method involves the selective glucosylation of 5-hmC residues, short-sequence tag generation and high-throughput sequencing. We tested this method by screening H9 human embryonic stem cells and their differentiated embroid body cells, and found that differential hydroxymethylation preferentially occur in bivalent genes during cellular differentiation. Especially, our results support hydroxymethylation can regulate key transcription regulators with bivalent marks through demethylation and affect cellular decision on choosing active or inactive state of these genes upon cellular differentiation. We developed a cost-effective and selective method to detect both the hydroxymethylation and methylation status of cytosines in more than 1.8 million MspI sites in the human genome. In this method, we took advantage of the differential enzymatic sensitivities of the isoschizomers MspI and HpaII. HpaII cleaves only a completely unmodified site, any modification at either cytosine blocks the cleavage, while MspI recognizes and cleaves both 5-mC and 5-hmC, but not the newly discovered 5-formylcytosine (5-fC) and 5-carboxylcytosine (5-caC). Furthermore, beta-glucosyltransferase (beta-GT) can transfer a glucose to the hydroxyl group of 5-hmC and generate beta-glucosyl-5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-ghmC) that blocks MspI digestion. Thus, either by combining beta-GT treatment with MspI digestion or simply applying MspI/HpaII digestion, short sequence tags generated can be used for inferring hydroxymethylation or methylation status in around 1.8 million cytosine sites in the human genome. We tested this method by screening H9 human embryonic stem cells and their differentiated embroid body cells.
Project description:Preeclampsia (PE) is a major contributor of maternal mortality with uncertain etiology. Recent studies suggested that epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation, play a vital role in the development of PE. In this study, we have mapped genome-wide distribution of 5-methylcytosin (5-mC) and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) using MeDIP and (h)MeDIP in the placentas from severely preeclamptic patients and normal controls. A total 194485 pooled 5-mC peaks and 138133 pooled 5-hmC peaks were identified, of which 714 5-mC peaks and 119 5-hmC peaks showed significant difference between patients and controls (>2-fold, p<0.05).To our knowledge, this is the first report of DHMRs (Differentially Hydroxy-Methylated Regions) in preeclamptic placenta. We not only confirmed the aberrant DNA methylated regions in the process of preeclampsia reported previously, but also identified unreported regions. A total of 4 selected DMRs (Differentially Methylated Regions) were also confirmed by MassARRAY EppiTYPER. Of these, PTPRN2, which had low level of 5-mC and high level of 5-hmC at gene body, was further verified to have lower methylation level at promoter regions in case group compared with controls. In conclusion, our study provided genome-wide distribution of 5-mC and 5-hmC in severe PE and normal controls, which have further clinical value for the identification of diagnostic and therapeutic markers for severe PE. Examination of 5-mC and 5-hmC pattern in 4 control cases' tissue and 4 severely Preeclamptic Placentas cases' tissue.
Project description:DNA methylation (5-mC) and hydroxymethylation (5-hmC) are regarded as important epigenetic hallmarks in the carcinogenesis of colorectal cancer by transcriptional regulation. 5hmC is an intermediate during active demethylation and maintains the equilibrium of DNA methylation. Previous studies on DNA methylation don’t differentiate 5-hmC from 5-mC. Here, in order to elucidate the epigenetic mechanisms of carcinogenesis of colorectal cancer, we integrate genome wide levels of 5-mC, 5-hmC and Transcriptional expression. 12 samples, including six colorectal tumor tissues and corresponding normal colonic tissues were recruited after surgery. Genome-wide DNA methylation was determined by methylated DNA immune- precipitation sequencing (MeDIP-seq), and hydroxymethylation by hydroxyl- methylated DNA immune-precipitation sequencing (hMedip-seq). Transcriptional expression was determined by RNA-seq. Group-wise different methylation region (DMR), different hydroxyl methylation region (DhMR) and different expressed gene (DEG) were identified. Epigenetic biomarkers were screened by integrating DMR, DhMR and DEG. We found that a genome-scale distinct hydroxymethylation pattern could be used as epigenetic biomarker for clearly differentiating colorectal cancer from normal tissues. 59249 differentially methylated regions (DMR), 187172 differentially hydroxymethylated region (DhMR) and 948 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. After cross-matched genes containing DMRs or DhMRs with DEGs, seven genes were screened. Furthermore, hypermethylation of HADHB was persistently found to be correlated with its down-regulation of transcription in CRC, potentially suggesting its role as TSG. The differences of methylation, hydroxymethylation and transcriptional expression in HADHB between cancerous and normal tissues were validated among additional colorectal cancer patients. To further validate this assumption, we also performed functional analysis and found that the expression of HADHB obviously reduced cancer cells migration and invasiveness. This study provided valuable basic data for screening epigenetic biomarkers and elucidated the epigenetic mechanisms of carcinogenesis of colorectal cancer.