Silencing the enhancer of zeste homologue 2, Ezh2, represses axon regeneration of dorsal root ganglion neurons

Recovery from injury to the peripheral nervous system is different from that of the central nervous system in that it can lead to gene reprogramming that can induce the expression of a series of regeneration-associated genes. This eventually leads to axonal regeneration of injured neurons. Although...

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Main Authors: Ting-Ting Guo, Ying Zhao, Wei-Xiao Huang, Tao Zhang, Li-Li Zhao, Xiao-Song Gu, Song-Lin Zhou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2022-01-01
Series:Neural Regeneration Research
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.nrronline.org/article.asp?issn=1673-5374;year=2022;volume=17;issue=7;spage=1518;epage=1525;aulast=Guo
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author Ting-Ting Guo
Ying Zhao
Wei-Xiao Huang
Tao Zhang
Li-Li Zhao
Xiao-Song Gu
Song-Lin Zhou
author_facet Ting-Ting Guo
Ying Zhao
Wei-Xiao Huang
Tao Zhang
Li-Li Zhao
Xiao-Song Gu
Song-Lin Zhou
author_sort Ting-Ting Guo
collection DOAJ
description Recovery from injury to the peripheral nervous system is different from that of the central nervous system in that it can lead to gene reprogramming that can induce the expression of a series of regeneration-associated genes. This eventually leads to axonal regeneration of injured neurons. Although some regeneration-related genes have been identified, the regulatory network underlying axon regeneration remains largely unknown. To explore the regulator of axon regeneration, we performed RNA sequencing of lumbar L4 and L5 dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons at different time points (0, 3, 6, 12 hours, 1, 3 and 7 days) after rat sciatic nerve crush. The isolation of neurons was carried out by laser capture microscopy combined with NeuN immunofluorescence staining. We found 1228 differentially expressed genes in the injured sciatic nerve tissue. The hub genes within these differentially expressed genes include Atf3, Jun, Myc, Ngf, Fgf2, Ezh2, Gfap and Il6. We verified that the expression of the enhancer of zeste homologue 2 gene (Ezh2) was up-regulated in DRG neurons after injury, and this up-regulation differed between large- and small-sized dorsal root ganglion neurons. To investigate whether the up-regulation of Ezh2 impacts axonal regeneration, we silenced Ezh2 with siRNA in cultured DRG neurons and found that the growth of the newborn axons was repressed. In our investigation into the regulatory network of Ezh2 by interpretive phenomenal analysis, we found some regulators of Ezh2 (including Erk, Il6 and Hif1a) and targets (including Atf3, Cdkn1a and Smad1). Our findings suggest that Ezh2, as a nerve regeneration-related gene, participates in the repair of the injured DRG neurons, and knocking down the Ezh2 in vitro inhibits the axonal growth of DRG neurons. All the experimental procedures approved by the Administration Committee of Experimental Animals of Jiangsu Province of China (approval No. S20191201-201) on March 21, 2019.
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spelling doaj.art-42d72392d2f34d68bf7addfd69cfdb0a2022-12-21T19:39:24ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsNeural Regeneration Research1673-53742022-01-011771518152510.4103/1673-5374.330623Silencing the enhancer of zeste homologue 2, Ezh2, represses axon regeneration of dorsal root ganglion neuronsTing-Ting GuoYing ZhaoWei-Xiao HuangTao ZhangLi-Li ZhaoXiao-Song GuSong-Lin ZhouRecovery from injury to the peripheral nervous system is different from that of the central nervous system in that it can lead to gene reprogramming that can induce the expression of a series of regeneration-associated genes. This eventually leads to axonal regeneration of injured neurons. Although some regeneration-related genes have been identified, the regulatory network underlying axon regeneration remains largely unknown. To explore the regulator of axon regeneration, we performed RNA sequencing of lumbar L4 and L5 dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons at different time points (0, 3, 6, 12 hours, 1, 3 and 7 days) after rat sciatic nerve crush. The isolation of neurons was carried out by laser capture microscopy combined with NeuN immunofluorescence staining. We found 1228 differentially expressed genes in the injured sciatic nerve tissue. The hub genes within these differentially expressed genes include Atf3, Jun, Myc, Ngf, Fgf2, Ezh2, Gfap and Il6. We verified that the expression of the enhancer of zeste homologue 2 gene (Ezh2) was up-regulated in DRG neurons after injury, and this up-regulation differed between large- and small-sized dorsal root ganglion neurons. To investigate whether the up-regulation of Ezh2 impacts axonal regeneration, we silenced Ezh2 with siRNA in cultured DRG neurons and found that the growth of the newborn axons was repressed. In our investigation into the regulatory network of Ezh2 by interpretive phenomenal analysis, we found some regulators of Ezh2 (including Erk, Il6 and Hif1a) and targets (including Atf3, Cdkn1a and Smad1). Our findings suggest that Ezh2, as a nerve regeneration-related gene, participates in the repair of the injured DRG neurons, and knocking down the Ezh2 in vitro inhibits the axonal growth of DRG neurons. All the experimental procedures approved by the Administration Committee of Experimental Animals of Jiangsu Province of China (approval No. S20191201-201) on March 21, 2019.http://www.nrronline.org/article.asp?issn=1673-5374;year=2022;volume=17;issue=7;spage=1518;epage=1525;aulast=Guoaxon regeneration; dorsal root ganglion neurons; ezh2; ib4; laser capture microscopy; nf160/200; quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction; sciatic nerve crush; scrna-seq; sirna
spellingShingle Ting-Ting Guo
Ying Zhao
Wei-Xiao Huang
Tao Zhang
Li-Li Zhao
Xiao-Song Gu
Song-Lin Zhou
Silencing the enhancer of zeste homologue 2, Ezh2, represses axon regeneration of dorsal root ganglion neurons
Neural Regeneration Research
axon regeneration; dorsal root ganglion neurons; ezh2; ib4; laser capture microscopy; nf160/200; quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction; sciatic nerve crush; scrna-seq; sirna
title Silencing the enhancer of zeste homologue 2, Ezh2, represses axon regeneration of dorsal root ganglion neurons
title_full Silencing the enhancer of zeste homologue 2, Ezh2, represses axon regeneration of dorsal root ganglion neurons
title_fullStr Silencing the enhancer of zeste homologue 2, Ezh2, represses axon regeneration of dorsal root ganglion neurons
title_full_unstemmed Silencing the enhancer of zeste homologue 2, Ezh2, represses axon regeneration of dorsal root ganglion neurons
title_short Silencing the enhancer of zeste homologue 2, Ezh2, represses axon regeneration of dorsal root ganglion neurons
title_sort silencing the enhancer of zeste homologue 2 ezh2 represses axon regeneration of dorsal root ganglion neurons
topic axon regeneration; dorsal root ganglion neurons; ezh2; ib4; laser capture microscopy; nf160/200; quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction; sciatic nerve crush; scrna-seq; sirna
url http://www.nrronline.org/article.asp?issn=1673-5374;year=2022;volume=17;issue=7;spage=1518;epage=1525;aulast=Guo
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