1 1831 118 EFFECTS OF MATERNAL SEPARATION AND ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUG ON EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF THE BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR EXON I PROMOTER IN THE ADULT RAT HIPPOCAMPUS. AIM: EARLY LIFE STRESS CAN INDUCE EPIGENETIC CHANGES THROUGH GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTIONS AND IS A RISK FACTOR FOR DEPRESSION. BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) HAS BEEN IMPLICATED IN THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF DEPRESSION AND ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUG ACTION. WE INVESTIGATED EPIGENETIC CHANGES AT THE BDNF EXON I PROMOTER IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS OF ADULT RATS SUBJECTED TO MATERNAL SEPARATION (MS) DURING EARLY LIFE AND TREATED WITH AN ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUG AS ADULTS. METHODS: RAT PUPS WERE SUBJECTED TO MS FROM POSTNATAL DAY 1 TO 21 AND RECEIVED CHRONIC ESCITALOPRAM (ESC) AS ADULTS. WE ASSESSED THE EFFECTS OF MS AND ESC ON BDNF EXON I AND DNA METHYLTRANSFERASES (DNMT) MRNA LEVELS (QUANTITATIVE REVERSE-TRANSCRIPTION POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION), ACETYLATED HISTONE H3, AND MECP2 BINDING TO THE BDNF PROMOTER I (CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION FOLLOWED BY REAL-TIME POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION), AND BDNF PROTEIN LEVELS (ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY). RESULTS: THE LEVELS OF BDNF PROTEIN, EXON I MRNA, HISTONE H3 ACETYLATION, AND DNMT1 AND DNMT3A MRNA WERE ALTERED IN THE MS GROUP COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP. SIGNIFICANT DECREASES WERE OBSERVED IN THE BDNF PROTEIN, EXON I MRNA, AND HISTONE H3 ACETYLATION LEVELS AND THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN DNMT1 AND DNMT3A MRNA LEVELS. THE COMPARISON BETWEEN THE MS + ESC AND MS GROUPS REVEALED SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN BDNF PROTEIN, EXON I MRNA, AND HISTONE H3 ACETYLATION LEVELS AND SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN MECP2 AND DNMT1 AND DNMT3A MRNA LEVELS. CONCLUSION: THESE FINDINGS INDICATE THAT MS INDUCED EPIGENETIC CHANGES AT THE BDNF EXON I PROMOTER AND THESE CHANGES WERE PREVENTED BY ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUG TREATMENT DURING ADULTHOOD. 2018 2 1320 42 DEMETHYLATION REGULATION OF BDNF GENE EXPRESSION IN DORSAL ROOT GANGLION NEURONS IS IMPLICATED IN OPIOID-INDUCED PAIN HYPERSENSITIVITY IN RATS. REPEATED ADMINISTRATION OF MORPHINE MAY RESULT IN OPIOID-INDUCED HYPERSENSITIVITY (OIH), WHICH INVOLVES ALTERED EXPRESSION OF NUMEROUS GENES, INCLUDING BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) IN DORSAL ROOT GANGLION (DRG) NEURONS. YET, IT REMAINS UNCLEAR HOW BDNF EXPRESSION IS INCREASED IN DRG NEURONS AFTER REPEATED MORPHINE TREATMENT. DNA METHYLATION IS AN IMPORTANT MECHANISM OF EPIGENETIC CONTROL OF GENE EXPRESSION. IN THE CURRENT STUDY, WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT THE DEMETHYLATION REGULATION OF CERTAIN BDNF GENE PROMOTERS IN DRG NEURONS MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF OIH. REAL-TIME RT-PCR WAS USED TO ASSESS CHANGES IN THE MRNA TRANSCRIPTION LEVELS OF MAJOR BDNF EXONS INCLUDING EXON I, II, IV, VI, AS WELL AS TOTAL BDNF MRNA IN DRGS FROM RATS AFTER REPEATED MORPHINE ADMINISTRATION. THE LEVELS OF EXON IV AND TOTAL BDNF MRNA WERE SIGNIFICANTLY UPREGULATED BY REPEATED MORPHINE ADMINISTRATION, AS COMPARED TO THAT IN SALINE CONTROL GROUP. FURTHER, ELISA ARRAY AND IMMUNOCYTOCHEMISTRY STUDY REVEALED A ROBUST UPREGULATION OF BDNF PROTEIN EXPRESSION IN DRG NEURONS AFTER REPEATED MORPHINE EXPOSURE. CORRESPONDINGLY, THE METHYLATION LEVELS OF BDNF EXON IV PROMOTER SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DOWNREGULATION BY MORPHINE TREATMENT. IMPORTANTLY, INTRATHECAL ADMINISTRATION OF A BDNF ANTIBODY, BUT NOT CONTROL IGG, SIGNIFICANTLY INHIBITED MECHANICAL HYPERSENSITIVITY THAT DEVELOPED IN RATS AFTER REPEATED MORPHINE TREATMENT. CONVERSELY, INTRATHECAL ADMINISTRATION OF AN INHIBITOR OF DNA METHYLATION, 5-AZA-2'-DEOXYCYTIDINE (5-AZA-DC) MARKEDLY UPREGULATED THE BDNF PROTEIN EXPRESSION IN DRG NEURONS AND ENHANCED THE MECHANICAL ALLODYNIA AFTER REPEATED MORPHINE EXPOSURE. TOGETHER, OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT DEMETHYLATION REGULATION OF BDNF GENE PROMOTER MAY BE IMPLICATED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF OIH THROUGH EPIGENETIC CONTROL OF BDNF EXPRESSION IN DRG NEURONS. 2016 3 1809 53 EFFECTS OF ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUGS ON THE EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR GENE EXPRESSION IN THE HIPPOCAMPI OF CHRONIC RESTRAINT STRESS RATS. RECENT STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUGS HAVE EPIGENETIC EFFECTS. HOWEVER, THE EFFECTS OF ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUGS ON HISTONE MODIFICATION REMAIN UNCLEAR. THEREFORE, WE INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUGS ON THE EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF THE BDNF GENE IN THE RAT HIPPOCAMPUS. RATS WERE SUBJECTED TO CHRONIC RESTRAINT STRESS (6 H/D FOR 21 D) AND THEN WERE ADMINISTERED WITH EITHER OLANZAPINE (2 MG/KG) OR HALOPERIDOL (1 MG/KG). THE LEVELS OF HISTONE H3 ACETYLATION AND MECP2 BINDING AT BDNF PROMOTER IV WERE ASSESSED WITH CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION ASSAYS. THE MRNA LEVELS OF TOTAL BDNF WITH EXON IV, HDAC5, DNMT1, AND DNMT3A WERE ASSESSED WITH A QUANTITATIVE RT-PCR PROCEDURE. CHRONIC RESTRAINT STRESS RESULTED IN THE DOWNREGULATION OF TOTAL AND EXON IV BDNF MRNA LEVELS AND A DECREASE IN HISTONE H3 ACETYLATION AND AN INCREASE IN MECP2 BINDING AT BDNF PROMOTER IV. FURTHERMORE, THERE WERE ROBUST INCREASES IN THE EXPRESSION OF HDAC5 AND DNMTS. OLANZAPINE ADMINISTRATION LARGELY PREVENTED THESE CHANGES. THE ADMINISTRATION OF HALOPERIDOL HAD NO EFFECT. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT THE ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUG OLANZAPINE INDUCED HISTONE MODIFICATION OF BDNF GENE EXPRESSION IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS AND THAT THESE EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS MAY REPRESENT ONE OF THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THE ACTIONS OF ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUGS. 2018 4 2300 43 EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF BDNF EXPRESSION IN THE PRIMARY SENSORY NEURONS AFTER PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY: IMPLICATIONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN. BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) IS KNOWN TO BE UP-REGULATED IN THE DORSAL ROOT GANGLION (DRG) AFTER PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY, AND TO CONTRIBUTE TO NEUROPATHIC PAIN. HERE, WE FOUND THAT THERMAL HYPERALGESIA AND MECHANICAL ALLODYNIA AT DAY 7 POST-INJURY WERE INHIBITED ONLY WHEN ANTI-BDNF ANTIBODY WAS INTRATHECALLY ADMINISTRATED AT DAY 2 POST-INJURY. CONSISTENT WITH BEHAVIORAL RESULTS, WESTERN BLOT ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT THE EXPRESSION LEVELS OF BDNF PROTEIN IN THE SPINAL DORSAL HORN WERE MARKEDLY INDUCED DURING EARLY STAGE POST-INJURY. MOREOVER, THE MAXIMAL INCREASE IN BDNF MRNA EXPRESSION IN THE DRG WAS OBSERVED AT DAY 1 POST-INJURY, AND SIGNIFICANTLY ELEVATED LEVELS WERE SUSTAINED FOR AT LEAST 14 DAYS. FOUR OF FIVE BDNF MRNA TRANSCRIPTS WERE UP-REGULATED AFTER NERVE INJURY, AND THE MOST INDUCIBLE TRANSCRIPT WAS EXON I. USING A CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION (CHIP) ASSAY, WE FOUND THAT NERVE INJURY PROMOTES HISTONE H3 AND H4 ACETYLATION, TRANSCRIPTIONALLY ACTIVE MODIFICATIONS, AT BDNF PROMOTER I AT DAY 1 POST-INJURY, AND THE LEVELS OF HISTONE ACETYLATION REMAIN ELEVATED FOR AT LEAST 7 DAYS. TAKEN TOGETHER, OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT AN INITIAL INCREASE IN BDNF EXON I EXPRESSION CONTROLLED BY EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS MIGHT HAVE A CRUCIAL ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN. 2013 5 2942 31 GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS OF LTF AT 3P21.3 IN NASOPHARYNGEAL CARCINOMA. TO INVESTIGATE THE ROLES OF LACTOTRANSFERRIN GENE (LTF, ALSO REFERRED TO AS THE LACTOFERRIN GENE, LF), LOCATED AT 3P21.3 WITHIN THE COMMON MINIMAL DELETION REGION, IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF NASOPHARYNGEAL CARCINOMA (NPC), WE FIRST DETECTED ITS EXPRESSION LEVEL IN 33 PRIMARY NPC TISSUES AND 15 CHRONIC NASOPHARYNGITIS TISSUES. ABSENT EXPRESSION OR DOWNREGULATION OF LTF WERE OBSERVED IN 76% (25 OF 33) OF PRIMARY NPC TISSUES. WE FURTHER FOUND THAT 25% (5 OF 20) OF NPC SPECIMENS HAD LOSS OF HETEROZYGOSITY (LOH) AT THE LTF LOCUS. LTF MUTATION ASSESSED BY POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION SINGLE-STRAND CONFORMATION POLYMORPHISM (PCR-SSCP) AND DNA SEQUENCING WAS NOTED IN 30% (6 OF 20) OF PRIMARY NPC TISSUES. IN ADDITION, HYPER-METHYLATION OF LTF PROMOTER REGION WAS FOUND IN 63.6% (21 OF 33) OF PRIMARY NPC SAMPLES BUT NOT IN CHRONIC NASOPHARYNGITIS TISSUES. THE LTF TRANSCRIPTS IN NPC CELL LINES INCREASED UPON TREATMENT WITH THE DEMETHYLATION COMPOUND, 5-AZA-2-DEOXYCYTIDINE. IN CONCLUSION, OUR DATA INDICATE THAT TWO-HIT SILENCING OF LTF THROUGH GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES MAY BE A COMMON AND IMPORTANT EVENT IN THE CARCINOGENESIS OF NPC. 2006 6 1996 31 EPIGENETIC AND GENETIC ALTERATIONS OF THE EDNRB GENE IN NASOPHARYNGEAL CARCINOMA. BACKGROUND: LOSS OF HETEROZYGOSITY (LOH) AT 13Q22 IS A COMMON EVENT IN NASOPHARYNGEAL CARCINOMA (NPC). EDNRB GENE LOCATED AT 13Q22 HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED TO BE HYPERMETHYLATED IN SOME KINDS OF TUMORS. IN THE CURRENT STUDY, WE FOCUSED ON THE EPIGENETIC AND GENETIC ALTERATIONS OF EDNRB IN NPC. METHODS: THE MRNA EXPRESSION OF EDNRB WAS DETECTED BY SEMIQUANTITATIVE RT-PCR AND REAL-TIME QUANTITATIVE PCR IN 49 NPC AND 12 CHRONIC NASOPHARYNGITIS BIOPSIES. THE METHYLATION AND LOH STATUS OF EDNRB WERE EXAMINED BY METHYLATION-SPECIFIC POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION, MICROSATELLITE PCR AND SEQUENCING. WE ALSO EXAMINED THE MRNA EXPRESSION OF EDNRB IN FOUR NPC CELL LINES AFTER 5-AZA-2'-DEOXYCYTIDINE TREATMENT. RESULTS: EDNRB WAS DOWNREGULATED IN PRIMARY NPC TISSUES AND NPC CELL LINES, AND A RELATIVELY HIGHER METHYLATION LEVEL OF EDNRB WAS FOUND IN NPC BIOPSIES (84%) COMPARED TO THAT IN CHRONIC NASOPHARYNGITIS BIOPSIES (42%). TREATMENT OF NPC CELL LINES WITH 5-AZA-2'-DEOXYCYTIDINE ACTIVATED EDNRB EXPRESSION. LOH OF EDNRB GENE WAS ALSO FOUND AT TWO MICROSATELLITE SITES WITH RATIOS OF 6.25 AND 16.67% IN NPC. CONCLUSION: OUR RESULTS SUGGESTED THAT EDNRB EXPRESSION MAY BE AFFECTED BY ABERRANT PROMOTER METHYLATION AND GENE DELETION AND MAY PLAY A ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NPC. 2007 7 1751 54 EARLY LIFE STRESS INCREASES STRESS VULNERABILITY THROUGH BDNF GENE EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN THE RAT HIPPOCAMPUS. EARLY LIFE STRESS (ELS) EXERTS LONG-LASTING EPIGENETIC INFLUENCES ON THE BRAIN AND MAKES AN INDIVIDUAL SUSCEPTIBLE TO LATER DEPRESSION. IT IS POORLY UNDERSTOOD WHETHER ELS AND SUBSEQUENT ADULT CHRONIC STRESS MODULATE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. WE EXAMINED THE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS OF THE BDNF GENE IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS, WHICH MAY UNDERLIE STRESS VULNERABILITY TO POSTNATAL MATERNAL SEPARATION (MS) AND ADULT RESTRAINT STRESS (RS). RAT PUPS WERE SEPARATED FROM THEIR DAMS (3 H/DAY FROM P1-P21). WHEN THE PUPS REACHED ADULTHOOD (8 WEEKS OLD), WE INTRODUCED RS (2 H/DAY FOR 3 WEEKS) FOLLOWED BY ESCITALOPRAM TREATMENT. WE SHOWED THAT BOTH THE MS AND RS GROUPS EXPRESSED REDUCED LEVELS OF TOTAL AND EXON IV BDNF MRNA. FURTHERMORE, RS POTENTIATED MS-INDUCED DECREASES IN THESE EXPRESSION LEVELS. SIMILARLY, BOTH THE MS AND RS GROUPS SHOWED DECREASED LEVELS OF ACETYLATED HISTONE H3 AND H4 AT BDNF PROMOTER IV, AND RS EXACERBATED MS-INDUCED DECREASES OF H3 AND H4 ACETYLATION. BOTH THE MS AND RS GROUPS HAD INCREASED MECP2 LEVELS AT BDNF PROMOTER IV, AS WELL AS INCREASED HDAC5 MRNA, AND THE COMBINATION OF MS AND RS EXERTED A GREATER EFFECT ON THESE PARAMETERS THAN DID RS ALONE. IN THE FORCED SWIMMING TEST, THE IMMOBILITY TIME OF THE MS + RS GROUP WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN THAT OF THE RS GROUP. ADDITIONALLY, CHRONIC ESCITALOPRAM TREATMENT RECOVERED THESE ALTERATIONS. OUR RESULTS SUGGEST THAT POSTNATAL MS AND SUBSEQUENT ADULT RS MODULATE EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN THE BDNF GENE, AND THAT THESE CHANGES MAY BE RELATED TO BEHAVIORAL PHENOTYPE. THESE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS ARE INVOLVED IN ESCITALOPRAM ACTION. 2016 8 5976 29 TET1-DEPENDENT EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF BDNF EXPRESSION IN DORSAL HORN NEURONS MEDIATES NEUROPATHIC PAIN IN RATS. TEN-ELEVEN TRANSLOCATION METHYLCYTOSINE DIOXYGENASE 1 (TET1) MEDIATES THE CONVERSION OF 5-METHYLCYTOSINE (5 MC) TO 5-HYDROXYMETHYLCYTOSINE (5 HMC), HENCE PROMOTING DNA DEMETHYLATION. ALTHOUGH RECENT STUDIES HAVE LINKED THE DNA DEMETHYLATION OF SPECIFIC GENES TO PAIN HYPERSENSITIVITY, THE ROLE OF SPINAL TET1-DEPENDENT DNA DEMETHYLATION IN NOCICEPTION HYPERSENSITIVITY DEVELOPMENT REMAINS ELUSIVE. HERE, WE REPORT CORRELATED WITH BEHAVIORAL ALLODYNIA, SPINAL NERVE LIGATION (SNL) UPREGULATED TET1 EXPRESSION IN DORSAL HORN NEURONS THAT HYDROXYLATE 5 MC TO 5 HMC AT CPG DINUCLEOTIDES IN THE BDNF PROMOTER TO PROMOTE SPINAL BDNF EXPRESSION AT DAY 7 AFTER OPERATION. FOCAL KNOCKDOWN OF SPINAL TET1 EXPRESSION DECREASED TET1 BINDING AND 5 HMC ENRICHMENT, FURTHER INCREASED 5 MC ENRICHMENT AT CPG SITES IN THE BDNF PROMOTER AND DECREASED SPINAL BDNF EXPRESSION ACCOMPANIED BY THE ALLEVIATION OF THE DEVELOPED ALLODYNIA. MOREOVER, AT DAY 7 AFTER OPERATION, SNL-ENHANCED TET1 EXPRESSION ALSO INHIBITED THE BINDING OF DNA METHYLTRANSFERASES (DNMTS, I.E., DNMT1, DNMT3A, AND DNMT3B) TO THE BDNF PROMOTER, A REQUIREMENT FOR TRANSCRIPTIONAL SILENCING BY CATALYSING 5-CYTOSINE (5C) TO 5 MC. TOGETHER, THESE DATA SUGGEST AT CPG SITES OF THE BDNF PROMOTER, SNL-ENHANCED TET1 EXPRESSION PROMOTES DNA DEMETHYLATION BOTH BY CONVERTING 5 MC TO 5 HMC AND INHIBITING DNMT BINDING TO REGULATE SPINAL BDNF EXPRESSION, HENCE CONTRIBUTING TO BEHAVIORAL ALLODYNIA DEVELOPMENT. 2016 9 2201 54 EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR PROMOTER I(7) IN MATERNALLY SEPARATED AND RESTRAINT-STRESSED RATS. GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR (GR) PROMOTER I(7) IS SUSCEPTIBLE TO EPIGENETIC CHANGES INDUCED BY ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES. EARLY LIFE STRESS (ELS) HAS A PERSISTENT IMPACT ON GR EXPRESSION, AS WELL AS BEHAVIOR, IN ADULT RODENTS VIA EPIGENETIC CHANGES OF GR PROMOTER I(7). MOREOVER, VARIOUS STRESSORS CAN INDUCE HISTONE MODIFICATIONS IN THIS REGION DURING ADULTHOOD. THUS, THE PRESENT STUDY AIMED TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER MATERNALLY SEPARATED (MS) RATS EXPOSED TO CHRONIC RESTRAINT STRESS (RS) WOULD EXHIBIT HISTONE MODIFICATIONS OF GR PROMOTER I(7) IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS. RATS WERE SUBJECTED TO MS (3H PER DAY) ON POSTNATAL DAYS (PND) 1-21. THEN, DURING ADULTHOOD (PND 56-77), THE RATS WERE EXPOSED TO RS (2H PER DAY) FOLLOWED BY TREATMENT WITH ESCITALOPRAM (10MG/KG). THE MS AND RS GROUPS EXHIBITED SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN TOTAL AND EXON I(7) GR MRNA LEVELS AND THE COMBINATION OF MS AND RS EXERTED A GREATER EFFECT ON THESE MRNA LEVELS THAN EITHER MS OR RS ALONE. ADDITIONALLY, BOTH THE MS AND RS GROUPS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN HISTONE H3 ACETYLATION AT GR PROMOTER I(7) AND THE COMBINATION OF MS AND RS HAD A GREATER EFFECT THAN DID EITHER MS OR RS ALONE. CHRONIC ESCITALOPRAM TREATMENT AMELIORATED THESE CHANGES. THE PRESENT RESULTS INDICATE THAT POSTNATAL MS AND ADULT RS INFLUENCE GR EXPRESSION THROUGH HISTONE MODIFICATION AT GR PROMOTER I(7), AND THAT THE COMBINATION OF THE TWO STRESSORS POTENTIATES THESE CHANGES. FURTHERMORE, EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS ARE INVOLVED IN ESCITALOPRAM ACTION. 2017 10 1191 32 CORRELATION BETWEEN THE EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF HISTONE H3K9 ACETYLATION OF NR2B GENE PROMOTER IN RAT HIPPOCAMPUS AND ETHANOL WITHDRAWAL SYNDROME. PATIENTS WITH ALCOHOL USE DISORDER MAY DEVELOP ACUTE ETHANOL WITHDRAWAL SYNDROME (EWS). PREVIOUS STUDIES SHOWED THAT AN EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF THE N-METHYL-D-ASPARTATE (NMDA) RECEPTOR, ESPECIALLY NMDA RECEPTOR 2B SUBUNIT (NR2B), WAS INVOLVED IN THE PATHOLOGICAL PROCESS OF EWS. HOWEVER, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF THE NR2B GENE IN THE RAT HIPPOCAMPUS REGION AND EWS WERE INCONSISTENT. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXPLORE THE ROLE OF THE HISTONE H3K9 ACETYLATION OF THE NR2B GENE IN THE RAT HIPPOCAMPUS REGION IN EWS. A RAT MODEL OF CHRONIC ETHANOL EXPOSURE WAS ESTABLISHED. EWS SCORE AND THE BEHAVIORAL CHANGES WERE RECORDED AT DIFFERENT TIME POINTS. THE NR2B EXPRESSION LEVELS AND THE HISTONE H3K9 ACETYLATION LEVEL IN THE NR2B GENE PROMOTER REGION WERE MEASURED USING QRT-PCR, WESTERN BLOT, IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE, AND CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION, RESPECTIVELY. FINALLY, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF HISTONE H3K9 ACETYLATION OF NR2B GENE PROMOTER AND EWS WERE EXAMINED. OUR ULTIMATE RESULTS SHOWED THAT THE EWS SCORE WAS INCREASED AT 2 H, PEAKED AT 6 H AFTER WITHDRAWAL OF ETHANOL, AND REDUCED TO THE LEVEL PARALLEL TO THE NORMAL CONTROL GROUP AT DAY 3 AFTER ETHANOL WITHDRAWAL. THE NR2B MRNA EXPRESSION AND PROTEIN LEVELS SHOWED SIMILAR PATTERNS. FURTHER CORRELATION ANALYSES INDICTED THAT BOTH HISTONE H3K9 ACETYLATION IN NR2B GENE PROMOTER AND THE EXPRESSION LEVELS OF NR2B WERE POSITIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH EWS. OUR RESULTS SUGGEST THAT CHRONIC ETHANOL EXPOSURE MAY RESULT IN EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF HISTONE H3K9 ACETYLATION IN NR2B GENE PROMOTER IN RAT HIPPOCAMPUS, AND THE EXPRESSION LEVELS OF NR2B WERE FOUND TO BE POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH ETHANOL WITHDRAWAL SYNDROME. 2019 11 2750 38 EXPRESSION LEVELS OF THE TYROSINE HYDROXYLASE GENE AND HISTONE MODIFICATIONS AROUND ITS PROMOTER IN THE LOCUS COERULEUS AND VENTRAL TEGMENTAL AREA OF RATS DURING FORCED ABSTINENCE FROM MORPHINE. BACKGROUND: EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS SUCH AS HISTONE MODIFICATIONS MAY BE INVOLVED IN THE STRUCTURAL AND BEHAVIORAL CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH ADDICTION. WE STUDIED WHETHER MORPHINE-INDUCED CHANGES IN MRNA LEVELS OF THE CATECHOLAMINE BIOSYNTHESIS ENZYME, TYROSINE HYDROXYLASE (TH), ARE ASSOCIATED WITH HISTONE MODIFICATIONS AROUND THE PROMOTER OF THIS GENE IN THE LOCUS COERULEUS (LC) AND VENTRAL TEGMENTAL AREA (VTA) OF RATS. METHODS: DEPENDENCE WAS INDUCED IN RATS BY INTRAPERITONEAL INJECTIONS OF MORPHINE FOR 11 DAYS. THE ANIMALS WERE KILLED 2 H (CHRONIC MORPHINE), 24 H AND 7 DAYS (SPONTANEOUS WITHDRAWAL) AFTER THE LAST INJECTION OF MORPHINE. RESULTS: ANALYSIS OF OUR REAL-TIME QUANTITATIVE REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION PCR RESULTS BY 1-WAY ANOVA SHOWED SIGNIFICANT UPREGULATION (5.13 +/- 0.39 FOLDS) OF LC LEVELS OF THE TH TRANSCRIPT 24 H AFTER THE LAST INJECTION OF MORPHINE TO RATS, WHEN COMPARED WITH 2 H AND 7 DAYS TIME POINTS. CHRONIC MORPHINE AND MORPHINE ABSTINENCE FAILED TO CAUSE ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE LEVELS OF TH MRNA IN THE VTA AFTER CESSATION OF MORPHINE. CONSISTENTLY, CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION REAL-TIME QUANTITATIVE PCR ASSAYS REVEALED THAT 24 H AFTER THE LAST INJECTION OF MORPHINE, LEVELS OF H3 ACETYLATION WERE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED (4.12 +/- 0.38 FOLDS) AT THE PROMOTER OF THE TH GENE IN THE LC BUT NOT IN THE VTA. OUR DATA ALSO SHOWED THAT HISTONE H3 TRIMETHYLATION FAILED TO CHANGE AROUND THE TH GENE PROMOTER EITHER IN THE VTA OR IN THE LC AFTER MORPHINE ABSTINENCE. CONCLUSIONS: RESULTS OF THE PRESENT STUDY, FOR THE FIRST TIME, DEMONSTRATE THE INVOLVEMENT OF HISTONE H3 ACETYLATION IN THE REGULATION OF TH GENE EXPRESSION IN THE LC OF RATS DURING FORCED ABSTINENCE FROM MORPHINE. 2018 12 6247 28 THE METHYLATION PATTERNS OF A DISINTEGRIN AND METALLOPROTEINASE 33 GENE (ADAM33) IN ADULT ASTHMA. BACKGROUND: ASTHMA IS A COMMON CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY RESPIRATORY DISEASE. PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE SUGGESTED THAT THE PATHOGENESIS OF ASTHMA MAY BE AFFECTED BY EPIGENETIC REGULATION. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY IS TO CHARACTERIZE THE EFFECT OF THE METHYLATION OF EACH CPG SITE IN THE ADAM33 (A DISINTEGRIN AND METALLOPROTEINASE 33) GENE IN ADULT ASTHMA. METHODS: A HUMAN CPG ISLAND MICROARRAY WAS USED TO EXAMINE 4 ASTHMATIC CASES AND 4 HEALTHY CONTROLS, AND THE RESULTS SUGGESTED THAT THERE MIGHT BE DIFFERENCES IN METHYLATION WITHIN EXON 9 OF THE ADAM33 GENE. THEREFORE, WE DESIGNED A CASE-CONTROL STUDY WITH 50 ASTHMATIC PATIENTS AND 50 AGE- AND SEX-MATCHED HEALTHY CONTROLS TO EXAMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CPG METHYLATION OF THE ADAM33 GENE AND ASTHMA USING BISULFITE DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID MODIFICATION AND SEQUENCING. RESULTS: BISULFITE SEQUENCING EXPERIMENTS SHOWED THAT THE 14 CPG SITES IN EXON 9 OF THE ADAM33 GENE WERE HIGHLY METHYLATED (100%) IN ALL INDIVIDUALS. THE PROPORTIONS OF METHYLATION OF THE 14 CPG SITES IN ADAM33 IN THE CASE GROUP WERE NOT DIFFERENT FROM THOSE OF THE CONTROL GROUP. THE METHYLATION OF EXON 9 OF THIS LOCUS WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH AGE, SEX, IGE LEVELS, OR LUNG FUNCTION. THIS STUDY FOUND NO ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE METHYLATION OF CPG SITES IN EXON 9 OF THE ADAM33 GENE AND ADULT ASTHMA. CONCLUSIONS: THE 14 CPG SITES WERE HIGHLY METHYLATED IN THE CASE AND CONTROL GROUPS. FURTHER INVESTIGATION OF EXON 9 IN ADAM33 IN A LARGER POPULATION IS NEEDED TO EVALUATE ITS ROLE IN ASTHMA. 2013 13 6816 31 [EXPRESSION, GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS OF LTF GENE IN NASOPHARYNGEAL CARCINOMA CELL LINES]. OBJECTIVE: TO INVESTIGATE THE EXPRESSION OF LTF MRNA IN SEVERAL NASOPHARYNGEAL CANCER (NPC) CELL LINES, AND ANALYZE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES AND EXPRESSION OF LTF GENE. METHODS: THE EXPRESSION LEVEL OF LTF WAS DETECTED IN NPC CELL LINES HNE1, HNE2, HNE3, CNE1, CNE2, 5-8F, 6-10B CELLS AND TISSUES OF 15 CASES OF CHRONIC NASOPHARYNGITIS BY RT-PCR. THE LTF PROTEIN LEVEL WAS ANALYZED BY WESTERN BLOTTING IN 6-10B CELLS. THEN LOH, MUTATION AND METHYLATION STATUS OF LTF WAS EXAMINED BY MICROSATELLITES ANALYSIS, PCR-SSCP, MSP AND BISULFITE GENOMIC SEQUENCING, RESPECTIVELY. RESULTS: 15 CHRONIC NASOPHARYNGITIS TISSUES SHOWED STABLE LTF EXPRESSION, WHILE THERE WERE WEAK EXPRESSION IN 6-10B CELLS AND ABSENT EXPRESSION IN REMAINING DETECTED NPC CELL LINES. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER LTF EXPRESSION IN CHRONIC NASOPHARYNGITIS TISSUES (Z = -3.738, P = 0.000). NO LTF PROTEIN EXPRESSION WAS OBSERVED IN 6-10B CELLS. LOH ANALYSIS DEMONSTRATED THAT ALLELE LOSS OF LTF WASN'T FOUND IN NPC CELL LINES. LTF MUTATION WAS NOTED IN 14.3% (1/7) OF NPC CELL LINES. DNA SEQUENCING CONFIRMED THE MUTATION POINT IN THE PROMOTER REGION (-305 BP TO -50 BP) WAS AT -218 BP (DEL T) OF LTF GENE IN THE HNE1 CELL LINE. METHYLATION OF LTF GENE WAS NOT FOUND IN CHRONIC NASOPHARYNGITIS. HOWEVER, METHYLATION OF LTF PROMOTER WAS DETECTED IN ALL NPC CELL LINES. LTF MRNA EXPRESSION WAS INCREASED IN 5-8F AND 6-10B CELL LINES AFTER TREATMENT WITH 5-AZA-2-DEOXYCYTIDINE. CONCLUSION: THERE IS AN INACTIVATION OF EXPRESSION OF LTF GENE IN THE NPC CELL LINES. ITS MOLECULAR MECHANISM MAY BE RELATED WITH METHYLATION OF PROMOTER REGION AND DELETION MUTATION. 2010 14 3627 30 INACTIVATION OF LARS2, LOCATED AT THE COMMONLY DELETED REGION 3P21.3, BY BOTH EPIGENETIC AND GENETIC MECHANISMS IN NASOPHARYNGEAL CARCINOMA. ALLELIC LOSS OF CHROMOSOME 3P, INCLUDING THE 3P21.3 REGION, IS FOUND IN 95-100% OF PRIMARY NASOPHARYNGEAL CARCINOMA (NPC) BIOPSIES, SUGGESTING THAT THIS REGION SHOULD HARBOR SOME TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENES (TSGS) CLOSELY RELATED TO NPC DEVELOPMENT. SEVERAL TSGS LOCATED AT 3P21.3, SUCH AS RASSF1A, LTF AND BLU, HAVE BEEN DEMONSTRATED TO BE INVOLVED IN NPC DEVELOPMENT. LARS2 (LEUCYL-TRNA SYNTHETASE 2, MITOCHONDRIAL) IS ANOTHER GENE LOCATED IN THE CHROMOSOME 3 COMMON ELIMINATED REGION-1 (C3CER1) AT 3P21.3. IN THIS STUDY, WE FOCUSSED ON THE EPIGENETIC AND GENETIC ALTERATIONS OF LARS2 IN NPC. THE MRNA EXPRESSION OF LARS2 WAS DETECTED IN 36 NPC AND 8 CHRONIC NASOPHARYNGITIS (NP) TISSUES BY SEMI-QUANTITATIVE REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION-POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (RT-PCR) AND REAL-TIME RT-PCR. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE MUTATION, ALLELIC LOSS, AND METHYLATION STATUS OF LARS2 WERE ANALYSED BY POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION-SINGLE-STRAND CONFORMATION POLYMORPHISM (PCR-SSCP), HOMOZYGOUS DELETION (HD) ANALYSIS AND METHYLATION-SPECIFIC POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION IN PRIMARY NPC TISSUES. NO EXPRESSION OR DOWNREGULATION OF LARS2 WAS OBSERVED IN 78% OF PRIMARY NPC TISSUES. NO MUTATIONS, ASSESSED BY PCR-SSCP AND DNA SEQUENCING, WERE FOUND IN THE PROMOTER REGION AND EXON 1 OF LARS2 IN NPC TISSUES, WHEREAS HD WAS DETECTED IN 28% OF NPC SPECIMENS AT THE LARS2 LOCUS. IN ADDITION, HYPERMETHYLATION OF LARS2 WAS FOUND IN 64% OF NPC SAMPLES BUT ONLY IN 12.5% OF NP BIOPSIES. OUR DATA INDICATE THAT INACTIVATION OF LARS2 BY BOTH GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS MAY BE A COMMON AND IMPORTANT EVENT IN THE CARCINOGENESIS OF NPC. 2009 15 1733 39 E-CADHERIN GENE RE-EXPRESSION IN CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA CELLS BY HDAC INHIBITORS. BACKGROUND: THE TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENE E-CADHERIN GENE IS FREQUENTLY SILENCED IN CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CLL) CELLS AND RESULTS IN WNT-PATHWAY ACTIVATION. WE ANALYZED THE ROLE OF HISTONE EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS IN E-CADHERIN GENE SILENCING. METHODS: CLL SPECIMENS WERE TREATED WITH HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR (HDACI) MS-275 AND ANALYZED FOR E-CADHERIN EXPRESSION WITH WESTERN BLOT AND RT-PCR ANALYSIS. THE DOWNSTREAM EFFECTS OF HDACI TREATED LEUKEMIC CELLS WERE STUDIED BY ANALYZING THE EFFECT ON WNT-PATHWAY SIGNALING. HDACI INDUCED ALTERATIONS IN E-CADHERIN SPLICING WERE INVESTIGATED BY TRANSCRIPT SPECIFIC REAL TIME PCR ANALYSIS. RESULTS: TREATMENT OF CLL SPECIMENS WITH HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITORS (HDACI) TREATMENT RESULTED IN AN INCREASE OF THE E-CADHERIN RNA TRANSCRIPT (5 TO 119 FOLD INCREASE, N=10) IN EIGHT OUT OF TEN CLL SPECIMENS INDICATING THAT THIS GENE IS DOWN REGULATED BY HISTONE HYPOACETYLATION IN A MAJORITY OF CLL SPECIMENS. THE E-CADHERIN RE-EXPRESSION IN CLL SPECIMENS WAS NOTED BY WESTERN BLOT ANALYSIS AS WELL. BESIDES EPIGENETIC SILENCING ANOTHER MECHANISM OF E-CADHERIN INACTIVATION IS ABERRANT EXON 11 SPLICING RESULTING IN AN ALTERNATIVELY SPLICED TRANSCRIPT THAT LACKS EXON 11 AND IS DEGRADED BY THE NON-SENSE MEDIATED DECAY (NMD) PATHWAY. OUR CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION EXPERIMENTS SHOW THAT HDACI INCREASED THE ACETYLATION OF HISTONES H3 AND H4 IN THE E-CADHERIN PROMOTER REGION. THIS ALSO AFFECTED THE E-CADHERIN EXON 11 SPLICING PATTERN AS HDACI TREATED CLL SPECIMENS PREFERENTIALLY EXPRESSED THE CORRECTLY SPLICED TRANSCRIPT AND NOT THE EXON 11 SKIPPED ABERRANT TRANSCRIPT. THE RE-EXPRESSED E- CADHERIN BINDS TO BETA-CATENIN WITH INHIBITION OF THE ACTIVE WNT-BETA-CATENIN PATHWAY IN THESE CELLS. THIS RESULTED IN A DOWN REGULATION OF TWO WNT TARGET GENES, LEF AND CYCLIND1 AND THE WNT PATHWAY REPORTER. CONCLUSION: THE E-CADHERIN GENE IS EPIGENETICALLY MODIFIED AND HYPOACETYLATED IN CLL LEUKEMIC CELLS. TREATMENT OF CLL SPECIMENS WITH HDACI MS-275 ACTIVATES TRANSCRIPTION FROM THIS SILENT GENE WITH EXPRESSION OF MORE CORRECTLY SPLICED E-CADHERIN TRANSCRIPTS AS COMPARED TO THE ABERRANT EXON11 SKIPPED TRANSCRIPTS THAT IN TURN INHIBITS THE WNT SIGNALING PATHWAY. THE DATA HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS IN ALTERING GENE SPLICING PATTERNS. 2013 16 6019 30 THE ASSOCIATION OF HTR3A MRNA EXPRESSION AND CRAVING IN HAN CHINESE ALCOHOL-DEPENDENT PATIENTS: A PRELIMINARY STUDY. BACKGROUND: 5-HYDROXYTRYPTAMINE (5-HT) 3 RECEPTOR PLAYS A CRUCIAL ROLE IN CRAVING OF ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE. RECENT EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT CHRONIC ALCOHOL EXPOSURE CAUSES CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION AND INDUCES BEHAVIORAL CHANGES. HOWEVER, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENE EXPRESSION OF 5-HT3 RECEPTOR AND CRAVING IN ALCOHOL-DEPENDENT PATIENTS IS NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD. OBJECTIVES: THE AIM OF THIS PRELIMINARY STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENE EXPRESSION OF THE 5-HT3 RECEPTOR AND CRAVING IN ALCOHOL-DEPENDENT PATIENTS AND THE EPIGENETIC MECHANISM. METHODS: WE RECRUITED 50 MALE HAN CHINESE ALCOHOL-DEPENDENT PATIENTS AND 46 MALE HAN CHINESE HEALTHY CONTROLS. WE INVESTIGATED THE CHANGES OF HTR3A MRNA, WHICH ENCODES THE 5-HT3 RECEPTOR A SUBUNIT, AND H3K9 ACETYLATION IN HTR3A PROMOTER REGION. OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DRINKING SCALE (OCDS) WAS USED TO ASSESS THE CRAVING OF ALCOHOL-DEPENDENT PATIENTS RELATIVE TO CONTROLS. RESULTS: HTR3A MRNA EXPRESSION LEVELS AND ACETYLATION LEVELS OF H3K9 IN THE HTR3A PROMOTER REGION WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN THE ALCOHOL-DEPENDENT PATIENTS. HTR3A MRNA EXPRESSION LEVELS WERE POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH OCDS SCORES. MOREOVER, HTR3A MRNA EXPRESSION LEVELS WERE POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH ACETYLATION LEVELS OF H3K9 IN HTR3A PROMOTER REGION. CONCLUSION: THE CURRENT FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT HTR3A MRNA EXPRESSION LEVELS WERE POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH CRAVING IN HAN CHINESE ALCOHOL-DEPENDENT PATIENTS. THE REGULATION OF H3K9 HISTONE ACETYLATION IN HTR3A PROMOTER REGION MAY OFFER A TARGET FOR THE TREATMENT OF ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE. 2016 17 6612 28 ULTRA-LOW-DOSE NALOXONE ENHANCES THE ANTINOCICEPTIVE EFFECT OF MORPHINE IN PTX-TREATED RATS: REGULATION ON GLOBAL HISTONE METHYLATION. OBJECTIVE: EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING MAY HAVE A POSSIBLE ROLE IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN DEVELOPMENT; THE PRESENT STUDY EXAMINED THE GLOBAL PATTERNS OF LYSINE HISTONE MODIFICATION. IN THIS SERIAL STUDY WE ANALYZED THE LEVELS OF HISTONE 3 LYSINE 4 MONOMETHYLATION, HISTONE 3 LYSINE 4 DIMETHYLATION, AND HISTONE 3 LYSINE 9 TRIMETHYLATION IN PERTUSSIS TOXIN (PTX)-INDUCED THERMAL HYPERALGESIC RAT SPINAL CORDS. METHODS: MALE WISTAR RATS IMPLANTED WITH AN INTRATHECAL CATHETER RECEIVED A SINGLE INTRATHECAL PTX (1 MUG IN 5 MUL SALINE) INJECTION. FOUR DAYS LATER, THEY WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO RECEIVE EITHER A SINGLE INJECTION OF SALINE, OR ULTRA-LOW-DOSE NALOXONE (15 NG IN 5 MUL SALINE), FOLLOWED BY MORPHINE (10 MUG IN 5 MUL SALINE) INJECTION 30 MINUTES LATER. RESULTS: THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT PTX INJECTION INDUCED THERMAL HYPERALGESIA AND SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OF GLOBAL HISTONE METHYLATION IN THE SPINAL CORDS. INTRATHECAL MORPHINE ALONE DID NOT AFFECT THE THERMAL HYPERALGESIA AND GLOBAL HISTONE METHYLATION. IN CONTRAST, INTRATHECAL ADMINISTRATION OF ULTRA-LOW-DOSE NALOXONE PLUS MORPHINE SIGNIFICANTLY ATTENUATED THE PTX-INDUCED THERMAL HYPERALGESIA AND DOWN-REGULATED THE GLOBAL HISTONE METHYLATION. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT ULTRA-LOW-DOSE NALOXONE MIGHT BE CLINICAL VALUABLE FOR NEUROPATHIC PAIN MANAGEMENT VIA REGULATING GLOBAL HISTONE MODIFICATION. 2012 18 479 46 ARSENIC TRIOXIDE INHIBITS DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE AND RESTORES TMS1 GENE EXPRESSION IN K562 CELLS. BACKGROUND: GENE SILENCING ASSOCIATED WITH ABERRANT METHYLATION OF PROMOTER REGION CPG ISLANDS IS AN ACQUIRED EPIGENETIC ALTERATION THAT SERVES AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO GENETIC DEFECTS IN THE INACTIVATION OF TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENES IN HUMAN CANCERS. THE DEMETHYLATING, DOSE-DEPENDENT EFFECT OF ARSENIC TRIOXIDE (AS2O3) ON SEVERAL TUMOR-RELATED GENES HAS ALREADY BEEN POSTULATED. HOWEVER, WHETHER SUCH A DEMETHYLATING EFFECT ALSO APPLIES TO THE TMS1 GENE IN CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA CELL LINE K562 CELLS HAS NOT BEEN STUDIED SO FAR. THE AIM OF THE PRESENT STUDY WAS TO DETECT THE METHYLATION STATUS OF THE TMS1 GENE IN K562 CELLS AND THE DEMETHYLATION EFFECT OF AS2O3 ON TMS1 AS WELL AS TMS1 APOPTOSIS-ASSOCIATED PROTEIN BCL-2/BAX AND DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE (DNMT) EXPRESSION. METHODS: TMS1 MRNA EXPRESSION IN K562 CELLS AND NORMAL BONE MARROW WAS DETERMINED BY REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION (RT) POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (PCR), AND THE DNA METHYLATION STATUS OF THE TMS1 PROMOTER IN K562 CELLS TREATED WITH DIFFERENT CONCENTRATIONS OF AS2O3 FOR 48 H WAS DETERMINED BY METHYLATION-SPECIFIC PCR. RT-PCR AND WESTERN BLOT WERE USED TO DETECT TMS1 AND DNMT EXPRESSION. WE ALSO ASSESSED TMS1-ASSOCIATED APOPTOSIS PROTEIN BCL-2/BAX EXPRESSION BY WESTERN BLOT AND APOPTOSIS RATES BY FLOW CYTOMETRY USING ANNEXIN V/PROPIDIUM IODIDE DOUBLE STAINING. RESULTS: IN K562 CELLS, TMS1 WAS COMPLETELY METHYLATED AND BOTH TMS1 MRNA AND PROTEIN SHOWED A LOW EXPRESSION, BUT 2 MUMOL/L AS2O3 COULD SIGNIFICANTLY RESTORE THE EXPRESSION OF THE TMS1 GENE BOTH AT MRNA AND PROTEIN LEVEL (P < 0.01) BY FULLY REVERSING DNA METHYLATION. AS2O3 DECREASED MRNA AND PROTEIN EXPRESSION OF DNMT1 (P < 0.05) IN A DOSE-DEPENDENT MANNER. FLOW CYTOMETRY SHOWED THAT IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP (2 MUMOL/L AS2O3), CELL APOPTOSIS WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP (NO AS2O3; P < 0.05). IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP, WESTERN BLOT SHOWED THAT THE EXPRESSION OF THE ANTI-APOPTOTIC PROTEIN BCL-2 WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED; HOWEVER, THE PROAPOPTOTIC PROTEIN BAX WAS MARKEDLY INCREASED AND THE BCL-2/BAX RATIO WAS MARKEDLY REDUCED (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: AS2O3 COULD RESTORE THE EXPRESSION OF TMS1 BY INHIBITING DNMT TO REVERSE THE HYPERMETHYLATION AND INDUCED APOPTOSIS OF K562 CELLS BY DOWNREGULATION OF BCL-2/BAX EXPRESSION. 2015 19 3459 31 HYPOMETHYLATION OF NERVE GROWTH FACTOR (NGF) PROMOTES BINDING OF C/EBPALPHA AND CONTRIBUTES TO INFLAMMATORY HYPERALGESIA IN RATS. BACKGROUND: CHRONIC PAIN USUALLY ACCOMPANIED BY TISSUE DAMAGE AND INFLAMMATION. HOWEVER, THE PATHOGENESIS OF CHRONIC PAIN REMAINS UNCLEAR. METHODS: WE INVESTIGATED THE ROLE OF NERVE GROWTH FACTOR (NGF) IN CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY PAIN INDUCED BY COMPLETE FREUND'S ADJUVANT (CFA), EXPLORED THE METHYLATION STATUS OF CPG ISLANDS IN THE PROMOTER REGION OF THE NGF GENE, AND CLARIFIED THE FUNCTION AND MECHANISM OF C/EBPALPHA-NGF SIGNALING PATHWAY FROM EPIGENETIC PERSPECTIVE IN THE CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY PAIN MODEL. RESULTS: CFA INDUCED SIGNIFICANT HYPERALGESIA AND CONTINUOUS UPREGULATION OF NGF MRNA AND PROTEIN LEVELS IN THE L4-6 DORSAL ROOT GANGLIONS (DRGS) IN RATS. HYPOMETHYLATION OF CPG ISLANDS OCCURRED IN THE NGF GENE PROMOTER REGION AFTER CFA TREATMENT. AT THE SAME TIME, THE MIR-29B EXPRESSION LEVEL WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED, WHILE THE DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE 3B (DNMT3B) LEVEL REDUCED SIGNIFICANTLY. MOREOVER, CFA TREATMENT PROMOTED BINDING OF C/EBPALPHA TO THE NGF GENE PROMOTER REGION AND C/EBPALPHA SIRNA TREATMENT OBVIOUSLY DECREASED EXPRESSION OF NGF LEVELS AND ALSO ALLEVIATE INFLAMMATORY HYPERALGESIA SIGNIFICANTLY IN RATS. CONCLUSION: COLLECTIVELY, THE RESULTS INDICATED THAT CFA LEADS TO THE UPREGULATION OF MIR-29B LEVEL, WHICH REPRESSES THE EXPRESSION OF DNMT3B, ENHANCES THE DEMETHYLATION OF THE NGF GENE PROMOTER REGION, AND PROMOTES THE BINDING OF C/EBPALPHA WITH THE NGF GENE PROMOTER, THUS RESULTS IN THE UPREGULATION OF NGF GENE EXPRESSION AND MAINTENANCE OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY PAIN. 2020 20 2197 31 EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF BDNF MEDIATES NEUROPATHIC PAIN VIA MIR-30A-3P/EP300 AXIS IN CCI RATS. RECENT INVESTIGATION OF MICRORNAS ON CHRONIC PAIN HAS DEVELOPED A BREAKTHROUGH IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN MANAGEMENT. IN THE PRESENT STUDY, DECREASED EXPRESSION OF MIR-30A-3P WAS REPORTED USING QRT-PCR ANALYSIS AND LOSS OF MIR-30A-3P PROMOTED NEUROPATHIC PAIN PROGRESSION IN SCIATIC NERVE CHRONIC CONSTRICTIVE INJURY RATS THROUGH DETERMINING THE PAIN THRESHOLD. WE PREDICTED MIR-30A-3P COULD TARGET E-CADHERIN TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVATOR (EP300) VIA BIOINFORMATICS ANALYSIS. MEANWHILE, WE FOUND THAT BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) IS INVOLVED IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN. HERE, WE EXHIBITED THAT EP300 EPIGENETICALLY UP-REGULATED BDNF VIA ENHANCING ACETYLATED HISTONE H3 AND H4 ON THE PROMOTER. FOR ANOTHER, MIR-30A-3P WAS ABLE TO MODIFY THE LEVEL OF BDNF AND ACETYLATED HISTONE H3 AND H4. LOSS OF MIR-30A-3P ENHANCED EP300 AND BDNF COLOCALIZATION IN CCI RATS. SUBSEQUENTLY, IT WAS SHOWN THAT INCREASED EP300 INDUCED NEUROPATHIC PAIN BY AN ENHANCEMENT OF NEURONAL BDNF LEVEL IN VIVO. TO SUM UP, IT WAS REVEALED THAT EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF BDNF PROMOTED NEUROPATHIC PAIN VIA EP300 INDUCED BY MIR-30A-3P IN CCI RATS. 2020