X Chromosome Factor Kdm6a Enhances Cognition Independent of Its Demethylase Function in the Aging XY Male Brain.

ABSTRACT: Males exhibit shorter life span and more cognitive deficits, in the absence of dementia, in aging human populations. In mammals, the X chromosome is enriched for neural genes and is a major source of biologic sex difference, in part, because males show decreased expression of select X factors (XY). While each sex (XX and XY) harbors one active X due to X chromosome inactivation in females, some genes, such as Kdm6a, transcriptionally escape silencing in females-resulting in lower transcript levels in males. Kdm6a is a known histone demethylase (H3K27me2/3) with multiple functional domains that is linked with synaptic plasticity and cognition. Whether elevating Kdm6a could benefit the aged male brain and whether this requires its demethylase function remains unknown. We used lentiviral-medi

SUBMITTER: Shaw CK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10235195 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature