Cited by 771Stress Responses and CortisolNeuroendocrine regulation and behaviorMemory and Neural Mechanisms

Maternal care effects on the hippocampal transcriptome and anxiety-mediated behaviors in the offspring that are reversible in adulthood

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Weaver, Ian C. G., Meaney, Michael J., Szyf, Moshe·2006·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Abstract

Early-life experience has long-term consequences on behavior and stress responsivity of the adult. We previously proposed that early-life experience results in stable epigenetic programming of glucocorticoid receptor gene expression in the hippocampus. The aim of this study was to examine the global effect of early-life experience on the hippocampal transcriptome and the development of stress-mediated behaviors in the offspring and whether such effects were reversible in adulthood. Adult offspring were centrally infused with saline vehicle, the histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA), or the essential amino acid l-methionine. The animals were assessed in an unfamiliar open-field arena, and the hippocampal transcriptome of each animal was evaluated by microarray analysis. Here we report that TSA and methionine treatment reversed the effect of maternal care on open-field behavior. We identified >900 genes stably regulated by maternal care. A fraction of these differences in gene expression is reversible by either the histone deacetylase inhibitor TSA or the methyl donor l-methionine. These results suggest that early-life experience has a stable and broad effect on the hippocampal transcriptome and anxiety-mediated behavior, which is potentially reversible in adulthood.

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Crossref · 10.1073/pnas.0507526103

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  • Epigenetic modifications occur across time and space and are indeterminate and unpredictable.

    “Moreover, I emphasize that epigenetic modifications occur across time and space and are indeterminate and unpredictable (Bollati and Baccarelli 2010; Weaver, Meaney, and Szyf 2006, my emphasis).”
  • Chronic central infusion of adult offspring of Low LG mothers with trichostatin A significantly increased H3K9ac, NGFI-A binding to the GR-17 promoter, and GR expression to levels comparable to offspring of High LG mothers.

    “Chronic, central infusion of adult offspring of Low LG mothers with the broad spectrum HDAC inhibitor, trichostatin A (TSA),109 significantly increased H3K9ac, NGFI-A binding to the GR-17 promoter, and GR expression to levels comparable to those observed in the offspring of High LG mothers.”

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Authors
Weaver, I. C. G., Meaney, M. J., & Szyf, M.
Affiliations
  • Douglas Mental Health University Institute (CA)
  • McGill Program for the Study of Behaviour, Genes, and Environment and
Corresponding author
Meaney, Michael J.
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2006-02-16
Volume
103
Issue
9
Pages
3480-3485
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
OpenAlex
W1967340797
Cited by
771
References
6
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 28 · 2018: 34 · 2017: 37 · 2016: 53 · 2015: 47 · 2014: 61 · 2013: 62 · 2012: 63
FWCI
19.48
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
Keywords
maternal care, hippocampal transcriptome, anxiety-like behavior, early life experience, epigenetic programming, glucocorticoid receptor, histone deacetylase inhibition, trichostatin A, methionine, DNA methylation, open field behavior
MeSH terms
Reelin Protein, Aging, Animals, Anxiety, Behavior, Animal, DNA Helicases, Gene Expression Regulation, Hippocampus, Histone Deacetylases, Hydroxamic Acids, Maternal Behavior, Methionine, Mothers, Nerve Tissue Proteins, Proteins, Serine Endopeptidases, Transcription, Genetic, Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal, Extracellular Matrix Proteins, Rats, Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors, RNA, Long Noncoding

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