Critical regulation of a NDIME/MEF2C axis in embryonic stem cell neural differentiation and autism.
Mingliang BaiDan YeXudong GuoJiajie XiNana LiuYukang WuWenwen JiaGuiying WangWen ChenGuoping LiZeyidan JiapaerJiuhong KangPublished in: EMBO reports (2020)
A microdeletion within human chromosome 5q14.3 has been associated with the occurrence of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism and intellectual disability, and MEF2C haploinsufficiency was identified as main cause. Here, we report that a brain-enriched long non-coding RNA, NDIME, is located near the MEF2C locus and is required for normal neural differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). NDIME interacts with EZH2, the major component of polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), and blocks EZH2-mediated trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3) at the Mef2c promoter, promoting MEF2C transcription. Moreover, the expression levels of both NDIME and MEF2C were strongly downregulated in the hippocampus of a mouse model of autism, and the adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated expression of NDIME in the hippocampus of these mice significantly increased MEF2C expression and ameliorated autism-like behaviors. The results of this study reveal an epigenetic mechanism by which NDIME regulates MEF2C transcription and neural differentiation and suggest potential effects and therapeutic approaches of the NDIME/MEF2C axis in autism.
Keyphrases
- intellectual disability
- long non coding rna
- poor prognosis
- autism spectrum disorder
- stem cells
- mouse model
- transcription factor
- dna methylation
- gene expression
- embryonic stem cells
- binding protein
- risk assessment
- endothelial cells
- type diabetes
- single cell
- cognitive impairment
- long noncoding rna
- bone marrow
- functional connectivity
- brain injury
- copy number
- white matter
- subarachnoid hemorrhage