Topic: DNA demethylation

Growth Arrest and DNA Damage inducible protein 45 alpha (Gadd45ɑ) is a protein well characterised for its role in DNA demethylation and cell cycle regulation. Behavioural studies showed that Gadd45ɑ-knock-out (KO) in mice impairs long-term memory consolidation following aversive learning tests. Proceeding experiments revealed that Gadd45ɑ is an RNA binding protein (RBP) that post-transcriptionally stabilises synaptic plasticity- and memory-related mRNAs in an activity-dependent manner. This project aims to decode the RNA and protein interaction networks of Gadd45ɑ in mouse hippocampal cells.Me

Huntington's disease (HD) is a genetic neurodegenerative disorder, caused by CAG repeat expansion (>39) coding for poly-glutamine (polyQ) tract in the Huntingtin (HTT) gene. Although HD is late onset, it was shown to have an early neurodevelopmental component. In addition, DNA methylation was shown in adults to be an important epigenetic mechanism involved in HD. Here we sought to explore early pre-symptomatic neurodevelopmental alterations in DNA methylation using cerebral organoids from juvenile forms of isogenic HD pluripotent cells. We find wide-spread DNA demethylation in the mutant ce