Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 10
Epigenetic Regulation of Gene Expression
in the Nervous System
Dai Hatakeyama , Sascha Tierling , Takashi Kuzuhara , and Uli Müller
Abstract
The term “epigenetics” refers to heritable alterations in chromatin
structure due to modifi cations of genomic DNA and histone proteins. Basic insights
about epigenetic alterations are derived from investigations of cell division and
development. Recently, many neurobiologists have focused on the mechanisms of
epigenetic control to link gene expression with behavioral changes in animals
because the long-lasting composition of epigenetic modifi cations is consistent with
the characteristics of long-term memories. There are several kinds of epigenetic
modifi cations: (1) cytosine methylation of genomic DNA, (2) acetylation, (3) meth-
ylation, and (4) phosphorylation of histones. In this chapter, we reviewed the funda-
mental techniques for investigating epigenetic status with specifi c focus on cytosine
methylation of genomic DNA. In addition, methods for analyzing histone modifi ca-
tions are also briefl y described.
Keywords
Bisulfi te PCR Cytosine methylation DNMT Epigenetic HAT
HDAC Histone acetylation Honeybee MBD Single nucleotide primer
extension (SNuPE)
