Elsevier

Neurobiology of Aging

Volume 108, December 2021, Pages 223-235
Neurobiology of Aging

Regular article
Examining age-dependent DNA methylation patterns and gene expression in the male and female mouse hippocampus

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2021.08.006Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Highlights

  • Global methylation levels show more variability across aging mice.

  • AP-1 transcription factor binding motifs are prevalent in hypomethylated regions.

  • Sex-specific divergence of methylation patterns occurs across the genomic landscape.

  • Female aging mice show methylation changes linked to genes in inflammatory pathways.

Abstract

DNA methylation is a well-characterized epigenetic modification involved in numerous molecular and cellular functions. Methylation patterns have also been associated with aging mechanisms. However, how DNA methylation patterns change within key brain regions involved in memory formation in an age- and sex-specific manner remains unclear. Here, we performed reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) from mouse dorsal hippocampus – which is necessary for the formation and consolidation of specific types of memories – in young and aging mice of both sexes. Overall, our findings demonstrate that methylation levels within the dorsal hippocampus are divergent between sexes during aging in genomic features correlating to mRNA functionality, transcription factor binding sites, and gene regulatory elements. These results define age-related changes in the methylome across genomic features and build a foundation for investigating potential target genes regulated by DNA methylation in an age- and sex-specific manner.

Keywords

DNA methylation
Dorsal hippocampus
Aging
Tissue-specific
Lifespan

Cited by (0)

These authors contributed equally