Neuronal Depolarization Induced RNA m<sup>5</sup>C Methylation Changes in Mouse Cortical Neurons

Neuronal activity is accomplished via substantial changes in gene expression, which may be accompanied by post-transcriptional modifications including RNA cytosine-5 methylation (m<sup>5</sup>C). Despite several reports on the transcriptome profiling of activated neurons, the dynamics of...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Xiguang Xu, Zachary Johnson, Hehuang Xie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-06-01
Series:Biology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/11/7/988
_version_ 1827619156938194944
author Xiguang Xu
Zachary Johnson
Hehuang Xie
author_facet Xiguang Xu
Zachary Johnson
Hehuang Xie
author_sort Xiguang Xu
collection DOAJ
description Neuronal activity is accomplished via substantial changes in gene expression, which may be accompanied by post-transcriptional modifications including RNA cytosine-5 methylation (m<sup>5</sup>C). Despite several reports on the transcriptome profiling of activated neurons, the dynamics of neuronal mRNA m<sup>5</sup>C modification in response to environmental stimuli has not been explored. Here, we provide transcriptome-wide maps of m<sup>5</sup>C modification, together with gene expression profiles, for mouse cortical neurons at 0 h, 2 h, and 6 h upon membrane depolarization. Thousands of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified during the neuronal depolarization process. In stimulated neurons, the majority of early response genes were found to serve as expression regulators of late response genes, which are involved in signaling pathways and diverse synaptic functions. With RNA bisulfite sequencing data, a union set of 439 m<sup>5</sup>C sites was identified with high confidence, and approximately 30% of them were shared by neurons at all three time points. Interestingly, over 41% of the m<sup>5</sup>C sites showed increased methylation upon neuronal activation and were enriched in transcripts coding for proteins with synaptic functions. In addition, a modest negative correlation was observed between RNA expression and methylation. In summary, our study provided dynamic transcriptome-wide landscapes of RNA m<sup>5</sup>C methylation in neurons, and revealed that mRNA m<sup>5</sup>C methylation is associated with the regulation of gene expression.
first_indexed 2024-03-09T10:22:18Z
format Article
id doaj.art-764b7241861c458790c40779343810f5
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2079-7737
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-09T10:22:18Z
publishDate 2022-06-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Biology
spelling doaj.art-764b7241861c458790c40779343810f52023-12-01T21:54:20ZengMDPI AGBiology2079-77372022-06-0111798810.3390/biology11070988Neuronal Depolarization Induced RNA m<sup>5</sup>C Methylation Changes in Mouse Cortical NeuronsXiguang Xu0Zachary Johnson1Hehuang Xie2Epigenomics and Computational Biology Lab, Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USAEpigenomics and Computational Biology Lab, Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USAEpigenomics and Computational Biology Lab, Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USANeuronal activity is accomplished via substantial changes in gene expression, which may be accompanied by post-transcriptional modifications including RNA cytosine-5 methylation (m<sup>5</sup>C). Despite several reports on the transcriptome profiling of activated neurons, the dynamics of neuronal mRNA m<sup>5</sup>C modification in response to environmental stimuli has not been explored. Here, we provide transcriptome-wide maps of m<sup>5</sup>C modification, together with gene expression profiles, for mouse cortical neurons at 0 h, 2 h, and 6 h upon membrane depolarization. Thousands of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified during the neuronal depolarization process. In stimulated neurons, the majority of early response genes were found to serve as expression regulators of late response genes, which are involved in signaling pathways and diverse synaptic functions. With RNA bisulfite sequencing data, a union set of 439 m<sup>5</sup>C sites was identified with high confidence, and approximately 30% of them were shared by neurons at all three time points. Interestingly, over 41% of the m<sup>5</sup>C sites showed increased methylation upon neuronal activation and were enriched in transcripts coding for proteins with synaptic functions. In addition, a modest negative correlation was observed between RNA expression and methylation. In summary, our study provided dynamic transcriptome-wide landscapes of RNA m<sup>5</sup>C methylation in neurons, and revealed that mRNA m<sup>5</sup>C methylation is associated with the regulation of gene expression.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/11/7/988neuronal depolarizationgene expressionRNA cytosine-5 methylationRNA bisulfite sequencingRNA-seq
spellingShingle Xiguang Xu
Zachary Johnson
Hehuang Xie
Neuronal Depolarization Induced RNA m<sup>5</sup>C Methylation Changes in Mouse Cortical Neurons
Biology
neuronal depolarization
gene expression
RNA cytosine-5 methylation
RNA bisulfite sequencing
RNA-seq
title Neuronal Depolarization Induced RNA m<sup>5</sup>C Methylation Changes in Mouse Cortical Neurons
title_full Neuronal Depolarization Induced RNA m<sup>5</sup>C Methylation Changes in Mouse Cortical Neurons
title_fullStr Neuronal Depolarization Induced RNA m<sup>5</sup>C Methylation Changes in Mouse Cortical Neurons
title_full_unstemmed Neuronal Depolarization Induced RNA m<sup>5</sup>C Methylation Changes in Mouse Cortical Neurons
title_short Neuronal Depolarization Induced RNA m<sup>5</sup>C Methylation Changes in Mouse Cortical Neurons
title_sort neuronal depolarization induced rna m sup 5 sup c methylation changes in mouse cortical neurons
topic neuronal depolarization
gene expression
RNA cytosine-5 methylation
RNA bisulfite sequencing
RNA-seq
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/11/7/988
work_keys_str_mv AT xiguangxu neuronaldepolarizationinducedrnamsup5supcmethylationchangesinmousecorticalneurons
AT zacharyjohnson neuronaldepolarizationinducedrnamsup5supcmethylationchangesinmousecorticalneurons
AT hehuangxie neuronaldepolarizationinducedrnamsup5supcmethylationchangesinmousecorticalneurons