Department of Neurobiology, Evelyn F McKnight Brain Institute, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA.
Neuroscientist. 2011 Dec;17(6):616-32. doi: 10.1177/1073858411386967.
Recent advances in chromatin biology have identified a role for epigenetic mechanisms in the regulation of neuronal gene expression changes, a necessary process for proper synaptic plasticity and memory formation. Experimental evidence for dynamic chromatin remodeling influencing gene transcription in postmitotic neurons grew from initial reports describing posttranslational modifications of histones, including phosphorylation and acetylation occurring in various brain regions during memory consolidation. An accumulation of recent studies, however, has also highlighted the importance of other epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation and histone methylation, as playing a role in memory formation. This present review examines learning-induced gene transcription by chromatin remodeling underlying long-lasting changes in neurons, with direct implications for the study of epigenetic mechanisms in long-term memory formation and behavior. Furthermore, the study of epigenetic gene regulation, in conjunction with transcription factor activation, can provide complementary lines of evidence to further understanding transcriptional mechanisms subserving memory storage.
染色质生物学的最新进展表明，表观遗传机制在调节神经元基因表达变化方面发挥了作用，而基因表达变化是突触可塑性和记忆形成的必要过程。实验证据表明，动态染色质重塑会影响有丝分裂后神经元中的基因转录，这一证据最初来自描述组蛋白翻译后修饰的报告，包括在记忆巩固过程中不同脑区发生的组蛋白磷酸化和乙酰化。然而，最近的大量研究也强调了其他表观遗传修饰（如 DNA 甲基化和组蛋白甲基化）在记忆形成中的作用。本综述探讨了染色质重塑介导的学习诱导的基因转录，这对研究长期记忆形成和行为的表观遗传机制具有直接意义。此外，与转录因子激活相结合的基因调控研究可以提供补充证据，进一步理解支持记忆存储的转录机制。
