Histone H2A.Z subunit exchange controls consolidation of recent and remote memory.

ABSTRACT: Memory formation is a multi-stage process that initially requires cellular consolidation in the hippocampus, after which memories are downloaded to the cortex for maintenance, in a process termed systems consolidation. Epigenetic mechanisms regulate both types of consolidation, but histone variant exchange, in which canonical histones are replaced with their variant counterparts, is an entire branch of epigenetics that has received limited attention in the brain and has never, to our knowledge, been studied in relation to cognitive function. Here we show that histone H2A.Z, a variant of histone H2A, is actively exchanged in response to fear conditioning in the hippocampus and the cortex, where it mediates gene expression and restrains the formation of recent and remote memory. Our data pro

SUBMITTER: Zovkic IB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4768489 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature