Early life stress triggers sustained changes in histone deacetylase expression and histone H4 modifications that alter responsiveness to adolescent antidepressant treatment.

ABSTRACT: Early life stress can elicit long-lasting changes in gene expression and behavior. Recent studies on rodents suggest that these lasting effects depend on the genetic background. Whether epigenetic factors also play a role remains to be investigated. Here we exposed the stress-susceptible mouse strain Balb/c and the more resilient strain C57Bl/6 to a powerful early life stress paradigm, infant maternal separation. In Balb/c mice, infant maternal separation led to decreased expression of mRNA encoding the histone deacetylases (HDACs) 1, 3, 7, 8, and 10 in the forebrain neocortex in adulthood, an effect accompanied by increased expression of acetylated histone H4 proteins, especially acetylated H4K12 protein. These changes in HDAC expression and histone modifications were not detected in C57B

SUBMITTER: Levine A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3225638 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature