Biology happens in 3D
See what you’ve been missing
Biology happens in 3D
See what you’ve been missing
Biology happens in 3D
See what you’ve been missing
Neuroscience
There has been a surge of interest in the role epigenetics in neurobiology as we learn more of how it influences brain development and behavior.1 Epigenetic mechanisms may also change in post-mitotic neurons in response to environmental stimuli like maternal care and social interactions, and play an important role for higher cognitive functions like learning and memory.2 Moreover, dysregulated epigenetics correlates with neurodegenerative disorders and diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis (MS).
Proximity ligation gives you a comprehensive 3D neuroplastic map
Chromatin conformation studies in cortical neurons support epigenetic control of enhancers as key players in neurodegenerative diseases.3,4 Increased hypomethylation has been observed in the CpH sites in the prefrontal cortex of patients of individuals with severe Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology compared to those with mild or moderate pathology. Hi-C studies have identified a distal interaction between hypomethylated enhancers in DSCAML1 and the BACE1 gene promoter which may explain the overexpression of BACE1 in AD pathophysiology. Similar studies will provide insights into other distal enhancer-promoter interactions involved in neurobiology.
Proximity ligation kits from Dovetail Genomics® make it easy to understand 3D epigenetics and how distal chromatin interactions drive neurodegenerative disease.
With kits like the HiChIP MNase kit, you’ll be able to:
- Identify unique enhancer-promoter interactions involved in brain development and neurodegenerative diseases
- Get a comprehensive view of protein binding & protein-mediated chromatin interactions without any bias due to restriction enzyme density
- Gather fine-scale, high-resolution topology mapping with an easy workflow that doesn’t require variable-introducing sonication.
References
- Epigenetics, Brain Evolution and Behaviour. Keverne EB and Curley JP, Front Neuroendocrinol., 2008.
- The Emerging Field of Epigenetics in Neurodegeneration and Neuroprotection. Hwang JY, Aromolaran KA, and Zukin RS, Nat Rev Neurosci, 2017.
- Epigenetic Dysregulation of Enhancers in Neurons is Associated with Alzheimer’s Disease Pathology and Cognitive Symptoms. Li P, et al., Nat Commun., 2019.
- Epigenomic Analysis of Parkinson’s Disease Neurons Identifies Tet2 Loss As Neuroprotective. Lee M, et al., Nat Neurosci., 2020.