Isoforms Differentially Regulate Gene Expression, Synaptic Transmission, and Memory in the Mammalian Brain.

The dynamic regulation of DNA methylation in postmitotic neurons is necessary for memory formation and other adaptive behaviors. Ten-eleven translocation 1 (TET1) plays a part in these processes by oxidizing 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), thereby initiating active DNA demethylation. However, attempts to pinpoint its exact role in the nervous system have been hindered by contradictory findings, perhaps due in part, to a recent discovery that two isoforms of the gene are differentially expressed from early development into adulthood. Here, we demonstrate that both the shorter transcript ( ) encoding an N-terminally truncated TET1 protein and a full-length ( ) transcript encoding canonical TET1 are co-expressed in the adult mouse brain. We show that is the predominantly expressed isoform and is highly enriched in neurons, whereas is generally expressed at lower levels and more abundant in glia, suggesting their roles are at least partially cell type-specific. Using viral-mediated, isoform and neuron-specific molecular tools, we find that the individual repression of each transcript leads to the dysregulation of unique gene ensembles and contrasting changes in basal synaptic transmission. In addition, repression enhances, while impairs, hippocampal-dependent memory in male mice. Together, our findings demonstrate that each isoform serves a distinct role in the mammalian brain. In the brain, activity-dependent changes in gene expression are required for the formation of long-term memories. DNA methylation plays an essential role in orchestrating these learning-induced transcriptional programs by influencing chromatin accessibility and transcription factor binding. Once thought of as a stable epigenetic mark, DNA methylation is now known to be impermanent and dynamically regulated, driving neuroplasticity in the brain. We found that , a member of the ten-eleven translocation (TET) family of enzymes that mediates removal of DNA methyl marks, is expressed as two separate isoforms in the adult mouse brain and that each differentially regulates gene expression, synaptic transmission and memory formation. Together, our findings demonstrate that each isoform serves a distinct role in the CNS.