Abstract
BACKGROUND: Ethanol (EtOH) exposure alters gene expression in the cerebral cortex (CCx); however, mechanisms of EtOH-induced gene regulation are not well understood. We hypothesized that EtOH regulates gene expression by differentially altering histone modifications at gene promoters that are up- and down-regulated by EtOH. Such epigenetic mechanisms may ultimately contribute to EtOH-induced neuro-adaptations that underlie tolerance, dependence, and EtOH-use disorders. METHODS: Eight-week-old, male C57BL/6J mice were treated with 3 g/kg EtOH (intraperitoneally) or saline and sacrificed 6 hours after injection; the CCx and hippocampus (HC) were immediately removed and flash frozen. Chromatin immunoprecipitation was used to study the association of model gene promoters with histone modifications. Western blot was used to detect global changes in the histone modifications studied. We also used a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) array to identify changes in expression of chromatin-modifying enzymes. RESULTS: In CCx, acute EtOH decreased expression of Gad1, Hdac2, and Hdac11, which was associated with decreased histone acetylation at the Gad1 and Hdac2 promoters; we also identified increased expression of Mt1, Mt2, Egr1, which was associated with increased H3K4me3 levels at the Mt2 promoter and decreased H3K27me3 levels at the Mt1 promoter. We identified an increase in global levels of H3K4me3 in CCx as well as a global increase in H3K9ac and H3K14ac in HC. The PCR array identified decreased expression of Csrp2 bp, Hdac2, and Hdac11 as well as increased expression of Kat2b in CCx. CONCLUSIONS: Acute EtOH induces chromatin remodeling at model up- and down-regulated genes in CCx. Different patterns of histone modifications at these gene promoters indicate that EtOH may be acting through multiple histone-modifying enzymes to alter gene expression; in particular, differential expression of Kat2b, Hdac2, Hdac11, and Csrp2 bp in CCx may mediate EtOH-induced chromatin remodeling. Additional studies are necessary to determine the relationship between EtOH-induced changes in histone-modifying enzymes, specific EtOH-induced histone modifications, and gene expression.