Widespread disruption of repressor element-1 silencing transcription factor/neuron-restrictive silencer factor occupancy at its target genes in Huntington's disease

Authors

Chiara Zuccato, University of Milan
Nikolai D. Belyaev, University of Leeds
Paola Conforti, University of Milan
Lezanne Ooi, University of WollongongFollow
Marzia Tartari, University of Milan
Evangelia Papadimou, University of Milan
Marcy Macdonald, Massachusetts General Hospital Richard B. Simches Research Center
Elisa Fossale, Massachusetts General Hospital Richard B. Simches Research Center
Scott Zeitlin, University of Virginia
Noel J. Buckley, Kings College London
Elena Cattaneo, University of Milan

RIS ID

72676

Publication Details

Zuccato, C., Belyaev, N. D., Conforti, P., Ooi, L., Tartari, M., Papadimou, E., Macdonald, M., Fossale, E., Zeitlin, S., Buckley, N. J. & Cattaneo, E. (2007). Widespread disruption of repressor element-1 silencing transcription factor/neuron-restrictive silencer factor occupancy at its target genes in Huntington's disease. The Journal of Neuroscience, 27 (26), 6972-6983.

Abstract

Huntingtin is a protein that is mutated in Huntington's disease (HD), a dominant inherited neurodegenerative disorder. We previously proposed that, in addition to the gained toxic activity of the mutant protein, selective molecular dysfunctions in HD may represent the consequences of the loss of wild-type protein activity. We first reported that wild-type huntingtin positively affects the transcription of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene, a cortically derived survival factor for the striatal neurons that are mainly affected in the disease. Mutation in huntingtin decreases BDNF gene transcription. One mechanism involves the activation of repressor element 1/neuron-restrictive silencer element (RE1/NRSE) located within the BDNF promoter. We now show that increased binding of the RE1 silencing transcription factor/neuron-restrictive silencer factor (REST/NRSF) repressor occurs at multiple genomic RE1/NRSE loci in HD cells, in animal models, and in postmortem brains, resulting in a decrease of RE1/NRSE-mediated gene transcription. The same molecular phenotype is produced in cells and brain tissue depleted of endogenous huntingtin, thereby directly validating the loss-of-function hypothesis of HD. Through a ChIP (chromatin immunoprecipitation)-on-chip approach, we examined occupancy of multiple REST/NRSF target genes in the postmortem HD brain, providing the first example of the application of this technology to neurodegenerative diseases. Finally, we show that attenuation of REST/NRSF binding restores BDNF levels, suggesting that relief of REST/NRSF mediated repression can restore aberrant neuronal gene transcription in HD.