Transcriptome analysis of the hippocampus in novel rat model of febrile seizures

The many facets of CD26/dipeptidyl peptidase 4 and its inhibitors in disorders of the CNS - a critical overview

Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 is a serine protease that cleaves X-proline or X-alanine in the penultimate position. Natural substrates of the enzyme are glucagon-like peptide-1, glucagon inhibiting peptide, glucagon, neuropeptide Y, secretin, substance P, pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide, endorphins, endomorphins, brain natriuretic peptide, beta-melanocyte stimulating hormone and amyloid peptides as well as some cytokines and chemokines. The enzyme is involved in the maintenance of blood glucose homeostasis and regulation of the immune system. It is expressed in many organs including the brain. DPP4 activity may be effectively depressed by DPP4 inhibitors. Apart from enzyme activity, DPP4 acts as a cell surface (co)receptor, associates with adeosine deaminase, interacts with extracellular matrix, and controls cell migration and differentiation. This review aims at revealing the impact of DPP4 and DPP4 inhibitors for several brain diseases (virus infections affecting the brain, tumours of the CNS, neurological and psychiatric disorders). Special emphasis is given to a possible involvement of DPP4 expressed in the brain.While prominent contributions of extracerebral DPP4 are evident for a majority of diseases discussed herein; a possible role of "brain" DPP4 is restricted to brain cancers and Alzheimer disease. For a number of diseases (Covid-19 infection, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer disease, vascular dementia, Parkinson disease, Huntington disease, multiple sclerosis, stroke, and epilepsy), use of DPP4 inhibitors has been shown to have a disease-mitigating effect. However, these beneficial effects should mostly be attributed to the depression of "peripheral" DPP4, since currently used DPP4 inhibitors are not able to pass through the intact blood-brain barrier.

De Novo Transcriptome Dataset Generation of the Swamp Buffalo Brain and Non-Brain Tissues

The sequenced data availability opened new horizons related to buffalo genetic control of economic traits and genomic diversity. The visceral organs (brain, liver, etc.) significantly involved in energy metabolism, docility, or social interactions. We performed swamp buffalo transcriptomic profiling of 24 different tissues (brain and non-brain) to identify novel transcripts and analyzed the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of brain vs. non-brain tissues with their functional annotation. We obtained 178.57 Gb clean transcriptomic data with GC contents 52.77%, reference genome alignment 95.36%, exonic coverage 88.49%. Totally, 26363 mRNAs transcripts including 5574 novel genes were obtained. Further, 7194 transcripts were detected as DEGs by comparing brain vs. non-brain tissues group, of which 3,999 were upregulated and 3,195 downregulated. These DEGs were functionally associated with cellular metabolic activities, signal transduction, cytoprotection, and structural and binding activities. The related functional pathways included cancer pathway, PI3k-Akt signaling, axon guidance, JAK-STAT signaling, basic cellular metabolism, thermogenesis, and oxidative phosphorylation. Our study provides an in-depth understanding of swamp buffalo transcriptomic data including DEGs potentially involved in basic cellular activities and development that helped to maintain their working capacity and social interaction with humans, and also, helpful to disclose the genetic architecture of different phenotypic traits and their gene expression regulation.

Inferior Colliculus Transcriptome After Status Epilepticus in the Genetically Audiogenic Seizure-Prone Hamster GASH/Sal

The Genetic Audiogenic Seizure Hamster from Salamanca (GASH/Sal), an animal model of reflex epilepsy, exhibits generalized tonic–clonic seizures in response to loud sound with the epileptogenic focus localized in the inferior colliculus (IC). Ictal events in seizure-prone strains cause gene deregulation in the epileptogenic focus, which can provide insights into the epileptogenic mechanisms. Thus, the present study aimed to determine the expression profile of key genes in the IC of the GASH/Sal after the status epilepticus. For such purpose, we used RNA-Seq to perform a comparative study between the IC transcriptome of GASH/Sal and that of control hamsters both subjected to loud sound stimulation. After filtering for normalization and gene selection, a total of 36 genes were declared differentially expressed from the RNA-seq analysis in the IC. A set of differentially expressed genes were validated by RT-qPCR showing significant differentially expression between GASH/Sal hamsters and Syrian control hamsters. The confirmed differentially expressed genes were classified on ontological categories associated with epileptogenic events similar to those produced by generalized tonic seizures in humans. Subsequently, based on the result of metabolomics, we found the interleukin-4 and 13-signaling, and nucleoside transport as presumably altered routes in the GASH/Sal model. This research suggests that seizures in GASH/Sal hamsters are generated by multiple molecular substrates, which activate biological processes, molecular processes, cellular components and metabolic pathways associated with epileptogenic events similar to those produced by tonic seizures in humans. Therefore, our study supports the use of the GASH/Sal as a valuable animal model for epilepsy research, toward establishing correlations with human epilepsy and searching new biomarkers of epileptogenesis.

Inhibition of EZH2 attenuates inhibitory synaptic transmission via the pro-inflammatory pathway in rats

Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), a subunit of the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), is associated with seizure development and epileptogenesis, however, the underlying mechanism of the process remains to be elucidated. This study focused on exploring whether EZH2 regulated gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-mediated neurotransmission during seizure generation. Hyperthermia-induced seizures were generated in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats using a hot (43.5 °C) bath method, and seizure severity was evaluated according to the Racine scale. The effect of treatment with the EZH2 pharmacological inhibitor GSK 126 on the GABA and pro-inflammatory cytokine levels was tested using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs) were recorded using whole-cell patch clamp. In this study, our results showed that intracerebroventricular (i.c.v) injection of the EZH2 pharmacological inhibitor GSK 126 (10 nM) increased seizure severity and shortened seizure latency in a rat model of FS, and these effects were accompanied by reduced GABA content. Furthermore, GSK 126 (1 μM) treatment decreased the mean amplitude and frequency of the mIPSCs in cultured hippocampal neurons subjected to hyperthermia. Importantly, the same results were also obtained in cultured neurons infected with lentivirus carrying EZH2 shRNA. In addition, a significant increase in the pro-inflammatory cytokine (IL-1β and TNF-α) levels was observed in rats after GSK 126 treatment, and IL-1β administration increased seizure severity, suggesting that the inflammatory response was involved in the regulation of seizure development by EZH2. This study helps clarify the role of EZH2 in FS and supports EZH2 administration as an effective target for the management of seizure generation.

Transcriptome analysis of rat dorsal hippocampal CA1 after an early life seizure induced by kainic acid

Seizures that occur during early development are associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. Causation and mechanisms are currently under investigation. Induction of an early life seizure by kainic acid (KA) in immature rats on post-natal day (P) 7 results in behavioral changes in the adult rat that reflect social and intellectual deficits without overt cellular damage. Our previous work also demonstrated increased expression of CA1 hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) and reduced desensitization of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid-type ionotropic glutamate receptors (AMPA-R) one week following a kainic acid induced seizure (KA-ELS). Here we used RNA sequencing (RNAseq) of mRNA from dorsal hippocampal CA1 to probe changes in mRNA levels one week following KA-ELS as a means to investigate the mechanisms for these functional changes. Ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) confirmed our previous results by predicting an up-regulation of the synaptic LTP pathway. Differential gene expression results revealed significant differences in 7 gene isoforms. Additional assessments included AMPA-R splice variants and adenosine deaminase acting on RNA 2 (ADAR2) editing sites as a means to determine the mechanism for reduced AMPA-R desensitization. Splice variant analysis demonstrated that KA-ELS result in a small, but significant decrease in the "flop" isoform of Gria3, and editing site analysis revealed significant changes in the editing of a kainate receptor subunit, Grik2, and a serotonin receptor, Htr2c. While these specific changes may not account for altered AMPA-R desensitization, the differences indicate that KA-ELS alters gene expression in the hippocampal CA1 one week after the insult.

Fangjing decoction relieves febrile seizures-induced hippocampal neuron apoptosis in rats via regulating the Akt/mTOR pathway

Background: Fangjing decoction is a Traditional Chinese Medicine that exhibits anticonvulsive effects in treating febrile seizures (FS). Its action mechanism and the regulation on Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway were revealed in the present study.

Methods: FS model was established in Sprague–Dawley rats with or without Fangjing decoction treatment. On day 5, following initiation of drug treatment, seizures were monitored. Hippocampal neuron apoptosis was assessed using terminal dUTP nick end-labeling method. The levels of Bax, protein kinase B (Akt), phospho-Akt (p-Akt), mTOR, and p-mTOR proteins were analyzed using Western blotting. The content of hippocampal γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) was measured by using ELISA assay.

Results: Compared with the control group (n=8), Fangjing decoction effectively shortened escape latency and duration of FS and decreased the frequency of FS in rats (n=8). Concomitantly, the apoptosis of hippocampal neurons, as well as Bax protein levels were also decreased in FS rats which were treated with Fangjing decoction. In addition, the Akt/mTOR signaling was found to be activated in rat hippocampus following FS, as evidenced by increased p-Akt and p-mTOR, while Fangjing decoction could inhibit the activation of Akt/mTOR signaling. Furthermore, the low GABA content in rat hippocampus following FS was significantly elevated by Fangjing decoction treatment. More importantly, SC79, a specific activator for Akt, apparently attenuated the protective effects of Fangjing decoction on FS rats.

Conclusion: These results suggest that Fangjing decoction protects the hippocampal neurons from apoptosis by inactivating Akt/mTOR pathway, which may contribute to mitigating FS-induced brain injury.

MERS-CoV and H5N1 influenza virus antagonize antigen presentation by altering the epigenetic landscape

Convergent evolution dictates that diverse groups of viruses will target both similar and distinct host pathways to manipulate the immune response and improve infection. In this study, we sought to leverage this uneven viral antagonism to identify critical host factors that govern disease outcome. Utilizing a systems-based approach, we examined differential regulation of IFN-γ-dependent genes following infection with robust respiratory viruses including influenza viruses [A/influenza/Vietnam/1203/2004 (H5N1-VN1203) and A/influenza/California/04/2009 (H1N1-CA04)] and coronaviruses [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome CoV (MERS-CoV)]. Categorizing by function, we observed down-regulation of gene expression associated with antigen presentation following both H5N1-VN1203 and MERS-CoV infection. Further examination revealed global down-regulation of antigen-presentation gene expression, which was confirmed by proteomics for both H5N1-VN1203 and MERS-CoV infection. Importantly, epigenetic analysis suggested that DNA methylation, rather than histone modification, plays a crucial role in MERS-CoV-mediated antagonism of antigen-presentation gene expression; in contrast, H5N1-VN1203 likely utilizes a combination of epigenetic mechanisms to target antigen presentation. Together, the results indicate a common mechanism utilized by H5N1-VN1203 and MERS-CoV to modulate antigen presentation and the host adaptive immune response.

Glucagon-like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) and neurotransmitters signaling in epilepsy: An insight review

Epilepsy is one of the most prevalent neurological disorder affecting more than 50 million people worldwide. Numerous studies have suggested that an imbalance in glutamatergic (excitatory) and GABAergic (inhibitory) neurotransmitter system is one of the dominating pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the occurrence and progression of seizures. Further, this alteration in GABAergic and glutamatergic system disrupts the delicate balance of other neurotransmitters system in the brain. Emerging strides have documented the protective role of GLP-1 signaling on altered neurotransmitters signaling in Epilepsy and associated co-morbidities. GLP-1 is neuropeptide and synthesized by preproglucagon (PPG) neurons in the brain. GLP-1 receptors are widely distributed throughout the brain including hippocampus (CA3 and CA1 region) and implicated in various neurological disorders like Epilepsy. A complete understanding of alteration in neurotransmitters signaling will provide essential insight into the basic pathogenic mechanisms of epilepsy and may uncover novel targets for future drug therapies. Presently, treatment of epilepsy is palliative in nature, providing only symptomatic relief to patients. The apparent or traditional approach of treating epileptic subjects with anti-epileptic drugs is associated with variety of adverse effects. Therefore, alternative approaches that can restore altered neurotransmitter signaling are being tried and adopted. Present review is an attempt to highlight the emerging protective role of GLP-1 signaling on altered neurotransmitters signaling in epilepsy. Authors have made significant efforts to discuss effect of various GLP-1 analogs on various neurotransmitters system and associated molecular and cellular pathways as a potential drug target for the management of epilepsy and associated co-morbidities. This article is part of the Special Issue entitled 'Metabolic Impairment as Risk Factors for Neurodegenerative Disorders.'

Identifying new antiepileptic drugs through genomics-based drug repurposing

Currently available antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) fail to control seizures in 30% of patients. Genomics-based drug repurposing (GBR) offers the potential of savings in the time and cost of developing new AEDs. In the current study, we used published data and software to identify the transcriptomic signature of chornic temporal lobe epilepsy and the drugs that reverse it. After filtering out compounds based on exclusion criteria, such as toxicity, 36 drugs were retained. 11 of the 36 drugs identified (>30%) have published evidence of the antiepileptic efficacy (for example, curcumin) or antiepileptogenic affect (for example, atorvastatin) in recognised rodent models or patients. By objectively annotating all ∼20,000 compounds in the LINCS database as either having published evidence of antiepileptic efficacy or lacking such evidence, we demonstrated that our set of repurposable drugs is ∼6-fold more enriched with drugs having published evidence of antiepileptic efficacy in animal models than expected by chance (P-value <0.006). Further, we showed that another of our GBR-identified drugs, the commonly-used well-tolerated antihyperglycemic sitagliptin, produces a dose-dependent reduction in seizures in a mouse model of pharmacoresistant epilepsy. In conclusion, GBR successfully identifies compounds with antiepileptic efficacy in animal models and, hence, it is an appealing methodology for the discovery of potential AEDs.

DPP4 regulates the inflammatory response in a rat model of febrile seizures

Febrile seizures (FS) are the most common seizure disorders in children aged 6 months to 5 years. Children suffering from complex FS have a high risk of developing subsequent temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Neuroinflammation is involved in the pathogenesis of FS although the mechanism remains unknown. Our previous study using the Whole Rat Genome Oligo Microarray determined that Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP4) is potentially a related gene in FS rats. In this study, we demonstrated that DPP4 expression was significantly increased at both the protein and mRNA levels after hyperthermia induction. Sitagliptin, a specific enzyme inhibitor of DPP4, remarkably attenuated the severity of seizures in FS rats, and hyperthermia-induced astrocytosis was suppressed after DPP4 inhibition. Furthermore, sitagliptin significantly decreased the levels of the inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6 but not IL-10. In addition, sitagliptin prevented NF-κB activation by decreasing phosphorylation of the p65 subunit. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that DPP4 functions as a critical regulator of neuroinflammation in hyperthermia-induced seizures and the DPP4 inhibitor may be a viable option for FS therapeutics.

The Novel Landscape of Long Non-Coding RNAs in Response to Human Foamy Virus Infection Characterized by RNA-Seq

Human foamy virus (HFV) is a complex and unique retrovirus with the longest genomes among retroviruses that are used as vectors for gene therapy. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are regarded as key regulators that are involved in diverse biological processes during viral infection. However, the role of lncRNAs in HFV infection remains unknown. In this study, we utilized next-generation sequencing to first characterize lncRNAs in 293T cells after HFV infection, evaluating length distribution, exon number distribution, volcano picture, and lncRNA class distribution. We identified 11,336 lncRNAs (4,729 upregulated lncRNAs and 6,588 downregulated lncRNAs) and 61,367 mRNAs (30,133 upregulated mRNAs and 31,220 downregulated mRNAs), which were differentially expressed in the HFV-infected 293T cells. Subsequently, six differentially expressed lncRNAs characterized using RNA-seq were confirmed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assays. Interestingly, Gene Ontology (GO)/Gene Ontology Tree Machine (GOTM) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Gene and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses indicated that positive regulation of interleukin 8 (IL8) production and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction might be involved in the functional enrichment of lncRNAs. Moreover, cis-acting and trans-acting regulatory networks show that NR_028036 may target the fas gene in a cis-acting manner and that ENST00000354838 may target the IL18 gene in a trans-acting manner. Overall, these results not only provide novel insights into the relationship between HFV and lncRNAs in the host response to infection but also have implications for the future wider application of HFV as a vector.

Decreased Methylation Level of H3K27me3 Increases Seizure Susceptibility

Epigenetic modifications including histone modifications are associated with seizure development and epileptogenesis; however, its underlying mechanism remains to be elucidated. Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) and IL6 are identified as febrile seizure (FS)-related genes using gene microarray analysis in hyperthermia prone (HP) rats. This purpose of the study focused on exploring whether epigenetic modifications marker histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3)-regulated DPP4 and IL6 expression further affected seizures development. Herein, we reported broad between-group differences in the global levels of H3K27me3 with increased seizure severity in vivo. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), we identified markedly decreased H3K27me3 enrichment at their promoters of DPP4 and IL6 in vivo. We further showed that hyperthermia significantly decreased protein levels of H3K27me3, increased mRNA levels of DPP4 and IL6 by decreasing H3K27me3 enrichment at their promoters of DPP4 and IL6 in vitro. Importantly, H3K27me3 loss via enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) knockdown promoted expression of DPP4 and IL6 via the same mechanism in vitro. EZH2 knockdown also increased neuronal firing frequency in vitro and FS susceptibility in vivo companied with upregulation expression of DPP4 and IL6. Taken together, our study provided the first evidence that hyperthermia-induced decreased of H3K27me3 promoted seizure susceptibility via regulating the expression pattern of DPP4 and IL6. These findings suggested that the methylation level of H3K27me3 might be a key regulator of seizure susceptibility.

Network science for the identification of novel therapeutic targets in epilepsy

The quality of life of children with epilepsy is a function of seizures and associated cognitive and behavioral comorbidities. Current treatments are not successful at stopping seizures in approximately 30% of patients despite the introduction of multiple new antiepileptic drugs over the last decade. In addition, modification of seizures has only a modest impact on the comorbidities. Therefore, novel approaches to identify therapeutic targets that improve seizures and comorbidities are urgently required. The potential of network science as applied to genetic, local neural network, and global brain data is reviewed. Several examples of possible new therapeutic approaches defined using novel network tools are highlighted. Further study to translate the findings into clinical practice is now required.

Proteomic profiling of epileptogenesis in a rat model: Focus on inflammation

Detailed knowledge about the patterns of molecular alterations during epileptogenesis is a presupposition for identifying targets for preventive or disease-modifying approaches, as well as biomarkers of the disease. Large-scale differential proteome analysis can provide unique and novel perspectives based on comprehensive data sets informing about the complex regulation patterns in the disease proteome. Thus, we have completed an elaborate differential proteome analysis based on label-free LC-MS/MS in a rat model of epileptogenesis. Hippocampus and parahippocampal cortex tissues were sampled and analyzed separately at three key time points chosen for monitoring disease development following electrically-induced status epilepticus, namely, the early post-insult phase, the latency phase, and the chronic phase with spontaneous recurrent seizures. We focused the bioinformatics analysis on proteins linked to immune and inflammatory responses, because of the emerging evidence of the specific pathogenic role of inflammatory signalings during epileptogenesis. In the early post-insult and the latency phases, pathway enrichment analysis revealed an extensive over-representation of Toll-like receptor signaling, pro-inflammatory cytokines, heat shock protein regulation, and transforming growth factor beta signaling and leukocyte transendothelial migration. The inflammatory response in the chronic phase proved to be more moderate with differential expression in the parahippocampal cortex exceeding that in the hippocampus. The data sets provide novel information about numerous differentially expressed proteins, which serve as interaction partners or modulators in key disease-associated inflammatory signaling events. Noteworthy, a set of proteins which act as modulators of the ictogenic Toll-like receptor signaling proved to be differentially expressed. In addition, we report novel data demonstrating the regulation of different Toll-like receptor ligands during epileptogenesis. Taken together, the findings deepen our understanding of modulation of inflammatory signaling during epileptogenesis providing an excellent and comprehensive basis for the identification of target and biomarker candidates.

De Novo Transcriptome Assembly of the Chinese Swamp Buffalo by RNA Sequencing and SSR Marker Discovery

The Chinese swamp buffalo (Bubalis bubalis) is vital to the lives of small farmers and has tremendous economic importance. However, a lack of genomic information has hampered research on augmenting marker assisted breeding programs in this species. Thus, a high-throughput transcriptomic sequencing of B. bubalis was conducted to generate transcriptomic sequence dataset for gene discovery and molecular marker development. Illumina paired-end sequencing generated a total of 54,109,173 raw reads. After trimming, de novo assembly was performed, which yielded 86,017 unigenes, with an average length of 972.41 bp, an N50 of 1,505 bp, and an average GC content of 49.92%. A total of 62,337 unigenes were successfully annotated. Among the annotated unigenes, 27,025 (43.35%) and 23,232 (37.27%) unigenes showed significant similarity to known proteins in NCBI non-redundant protein and Swiss-Prot databases (E-value < 1.0E-5), respectively. Of these annotated unigenes, 14,439 and 15,813 unigenes were assigned to the Gene Ontology (GO) categories and EuKaryotic Ortholog Group (KOG) cluster, respectively. In addition, a total of 14,167 unigenes were assigned to 331 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. Furthermore, 17,401 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified as potential molecular markers. One hundred and fifteen primer pairs were randomly selected for amplification to detect polymorphisms. The results revealed that 110 primer pairs (95.65%) yielded PCR amplicons and 69 primer pairs (60.00%) presented polymorphisms in 35 individual buffaloes. A phylogenetic analysis showed that the five swamp buffalo populations were clustered together, whereas two river buffalo breeds clustered separately. In the present study, the Illumina RNA-seq technology was utilized to perform transcriptome analysis and SSR marker discovery in the swamp buffalo without using a reference genome. Our findings will enrich the current SSR markers resources and help spearhead molecular genetic research studies on the swamp buffalo.

Expression Profiling after Prolonged Experimental Febrile Seizures in Mice Suggests Structural Remodeling in the Hippocampus

Febrile seizures are the most prevalent type of seizures among children up to 5 years of age (2–4% of Western-European children). Complex febrile seizures are associated with an increased risk to develop temporal lobe epilepsy. To investigate short- and long-term effects of experimental febrile seizures (eFS), we induced eFS in highly febrile convulsion-susceptible C57BL/6J mice at post-natal day 10 by exposure to hyperthermia (HT) and compared them to normotherm-exposed (NT) mice. We detected structural re-organization in the hippocampus 14 days after eFS. To identify molecular candidates, which entrain this structural re-organization, we investigated temporal changes in mRNA expression profiles eFS 1 hour to 56 days after eFS. We identified 931 regulated genes and profiled several candidates using in situ hybridization and histology at 3 and 14 days after eFS. This is the first study to report genome-wide transcriptome analysis after eFS in mice. We identify temporal regulation of multiple processes, such as stress-, immune- and inflammatory responses, glia activation, glutamate-glutamine cycle and myelination. Identification of the short- and long-term changes after eFS is important to elucidate the mechanisms contributing to epileptogenesis.

Long-term metabolic alterations in a febrile seizure model

OBJECTIVE

Febrile seizures (FS) are the most common neurological disease in infancy and early childhood, it can lead to metabolic changes and have long-term health implications. Aim of this study was to investigate the long-term effects of FS on metabolism.

METHODS

We measured certain metabolic parameters in hyperthermia-prone (HP) rats, which were developed using a selective breeding process and showed a lower seizure threshold than wild-type (WT) rats. Body weight, body length, abdominal circumference and the levels of fasting blood glucose, serum triglyceride, and total cholesterol concentrations were analyzed. The mRNA expression of genes involved in glucose and lipid metabolism was determined by qPCR and the histone methylation level in the liver was determined by western blot.

RESULTS

We found that the body weight of the HP rats was significantly lower than that of the WT rats. Similarly, the fasting blood glucose and serum triglyceride levels were lower in the HP group compared with the WT group. These changes were accompanied by increased mRNA expression of genes such as phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1 (CPT-1), but not peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα). We also found tri-methylation of histone 3 at Lys9 and Lys27 was decreased in the HP group.

CONCLUSIONS

These data may suggest an underlying mechanism by which FS have a long-term effect on energy metabolism via histone methylation.