Integrative epigenomic analyses of early-life hypothalamic response to augmented maternal care [RNA-seq]

The quality of maternal care in early-life plays a crucial role in mammalian neurodevelopment. Augmented maternal care (AMC) is a well-established rodent model of enhanced neonatal care. Rats that have undergone AMC have improved stress resilience and cognition compared with rats that have experienced normal levels of maternal care or adverse neonatal stress. However, the epigenomic basis of long-lived responses to AMC has not been previously explored. Thus, we employed whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS), RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq), and a multiplex microRNA (miRNA) assay to assess DNA cytosine methylation, gene expression, and miRNA expression, respectively. The integrated results identify a suite of 20 prioritized candidates impacted by AMC. Overall, these results identified AMC-induced regulatory differences in genes related to neurotransmission, neurodevelopment, protein synthesis, and oxidative phosphorylation in addition to the expected stress response genes. Together, these unbiased results represent a key progression in understanding the complex mechanisms underlying the early-life mechanisms for AMC programming stress resiliency. Overall design: DNA methylation and RNA were assayed in augmented maternal care male rats as well as controls.

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Vogel Ciernia A, Laufer BI, Dunaway KW, Mordaunt CE, Coulson RL, Totah TS, Stolzenberg DS, Frahm JC, Singh-Taylor A, Baram TZ, LaSalle JM, Yasui DH