Project description:Investigate the persistent effects of early postnatal overnutrition on the developmental establishment of the DNA methylation in the mouse hypothalamus.
Project description:Investigate the persistent effects of early postnatal overnutrition on the developmental establishment of the DNA methylation in the mouse hypothalamus. Early postnatal overnutrition was induced in mice by reducing the litter size from normally 9 (C) to 4 (SL) pups per litter. Hypothalami were collected from both C and SL mice at the age of postnatal day 180 (P180). Genome-wide DNA methylation difference between SL and C were detected by MSAM. Equal amount of genomic DNA from 5 hypothalami of the same group were pooled as one MSAM sample. Two pooled DNA samples for each group were used for comparison that meant total 10 hypothalami for each group. 500ng pooled DNA was serially digested with SmaI and XmaI followed by adaptor ligation and PCR amplification. Two cohybridizations were performed to compare DNA methylation between SL and C hypothalami, with day swap.
Project description:Human epidemiologic and animal model data indicate that early environmental influences can persistently alter an individual’s risk of obesity. Environmental effects on hypothalamic developmental epigenetics provide a strong candidate mechanism to explain such ‘developmental programming’ of obesity. To advance our understanding of these processes, it is essential to determine to what extent the diversity of hypothalamic cell types is regulated by epigenetic differences, and when these are established. By performing genome-scale DNA methylation profiling in hypothalamic neurons and non-neuronal cells at postnatal day 0 (P0) and P21, we found that most of the DNA methylation differences distinguishing these two cell types are established postnatally. We found dramatic neuron-specific increases in DNA methylation from P0 to P21. Gene ontology analyses indicated that cell-type specific P0 to P21 methylation changes are key regulators of hypothalamic development. Quantitative bisulfite pyrosequencing verified our methylation profiling results in 16 of 16 selected regions. Expression differences were associated with DNA methylation in several genes analyzed. Our data indicate that future studies of hypothalamic epigenetics in developmental programming of obesity will gain far greater sensitivity and insight by examining outcomes at the cell-type specific level. Moreover, our results provide new evidence that early postnatal life is a critical period for murine hypothalamic developmental epigenetics. Hypothalami were dissected from inbred male C57 mice at postnatal day 0 (P0) and P21. Non-neuronal and neuronal nuclei were separated via fluorescence-activated sorting based on staining for the neuron-specific nuclear surface marker NeuN; each sample for sorting was comprised of 2 age-matched hypothalami. Genome-scale DNA methylation profiling was performed by methylation specific amplification coupled with next generation sequencing (MSA-seq) as decribed below (5 independent samples per age).
Project description:Human epidemiologic and animal model data indicate that early environmental influences can persistently alter an individual’s risk of obesity. Environmental effects on hypothalamic developmental epigenetics provide a strong candidate mechanism to explain such ‘developmental programming’ of obesity. To advance our understanding of these processes, it is essential to determine to what extent the diversity of hypothalamic cell types is regulated by epigenetic differences, and when these are established. By performing genome-scale DNA methylation profiling in hypothalamic neurons and non-neuronal cells at postnatal day 0 (P0) and P21, we found that most of the DNA methylation differences distinguishing these two cell types are established postnatally. We found dramatic neuron-specific increases in DNA methylation from P0 to P21. Gene ontology analyses indicated that cell-type specific P0 to P21 methylation changes are key regulators of hypothalamic development. Quantitative bisulfite pyrosequencing verified our methylation profiling results in 16 of 16 selected regions. Expression differences were associated with DNA methylation in several genes analyzed. Our data indicate that future studies of hypothalamic epigenetics in developmental programming of obesity will gain far greater sensitivity and insight by examining outcomes at the cell-type specific level. Moreover, our results provide new evidence that early postnatal life is a critical period for murine hypothalamic developmental epigenetics.
Project description:PURPOSE: To provide a detailed gene expression profile of the normal postnatal mouse cornea. METHODS: Serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) was performed on postnatal day (PN)9 and adult mouse (6 week) total corneas. The expression of selected genes was analyzed by in situ hybridization. RESULTS: A total of 64,272 PN9 and 62,206 adult tags were sequenced. Mouse corneal transcriptomes are composed of at least 19,544 and 18,509 unique mRNAs, respectively. One third of the unique tags were expressed at both stages, whereas a third was identified exclusively in PN9 or adult corneas. Three hundred thirty-four PN9 and 339 adult tags were enriched more than fivefold over other published nonocular libraries. Abundant transcripts were associated with metabolic functions, redox activities, and barrier integrity. Three members of the Ly-6/uPAR family whose functions are unknown in the cornea constitute more than 1% of the total mRNA. Aquaporin 5, epithelial membrane protein and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) omega-1, and GST alpha-4 mRNAs were preferentially expressed in distinct corneal epithelial layers, providing new markers for stratification. More than 200 tags were differentially expressed, of which 25 mediate transcription. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to providing a detailed profile of expressed genes in the PN9 and mature mouse cornea, the present SAGE data demonstrate dynamic changes in gene expression after eye opening and provide new probes for exploring corneal epithelial cell stratification, development, and function and for exploring the intricate relationship between programmed and environmentally induced gene expression in the cornea. Keywords: other