DMMC Course: UNRAVELLING CHROMATIN & THE ROLE OF EPIGENETICS IN DISEASE

1030-1050 Wednesday 26 April 2006. UCD Conway Institute Lecture Theatre

Epigenetics & behaviour
Dr Sean Mulvany (UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research)

Recent work has shown epigenetic mechanisms to mediate the lasting effects of nurture and environment on subsequent behaviour. For example, mothering style in rats affects the adult stress response and subsequent mothering style in offspring through gene methylation and histone acetylation changes. In humans, these findings have clear relevance to the aetiology of mental illnesses like depression and schizophrenia as such conditions often have a nurture and environmental component that acts in tandem with inherited risk. Crucially, this work suggests the possibility of reversing deleterious epigenetic changes via drug interventions leading to novel psychiatric illness treatment opportunities.

Key References

Weaver, I.C., et al. (2004). Epigenetic programming by maternal behavior. Nat. Neurosci. 7, 847-854. PubMed Entry

Veldic, M., et al. (2005). In psychosis, cortical interneurons overexpress DNA-methyltransferase 1. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 102, 2152-2157. PubMed Entry

Dong, E., et al. (2005). Reelin and glutamic acid decarboxylase67 promoter remodeling in an epigenetic methionine-induced mouse model of schizophrenia. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 102, 12578-12583. PubMed Entry

Berton, O. and Nestler, E.J. (2006). New approaches to antidepressant drug discovery: beyond monoamines. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 7, 137-151. PubMed Entry