Rapid nucleus-scale reorganization of chromatin in neurons enables transcriptional adaptation for memory consolidation

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 16; no. 5; p. e0244038
• Main Authors: Peter, Manuel, Aschauer, Dominik F, Rose, Renata, Sinning, Anne, Grössl, Florian, Kargl, Dominic, Kraitsy, Klaus, Burkard, Thomas R, Luhmann, Heiko J, Haubensak, Wulf, Rumpel, Simon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 05-05-2021; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Analysis; Animals; Biology and Life Sciences; Cell Nucleus - metabolism; Chromatin; Chromatin - metabolism; Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly; Fear - physiology; Genetic transcription; Histones - genetics; Histones - metabolism; Interphase; Male; Medicine and Health Sciences; Memory Consolidation - physiology; Mice; Mice, Transgenic; Neurons - metabolism; Neurons - physiology; Research and Analysis Methods; Social Sciences; Transcription, Genetic; Austria
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244038

The interphase nucleus is functionally organized in active and repressed territories defining the transcriptional status of the cell. However, it remains poorly understood how the nuclear architecture of neurons adapts in response to behaviorally relevant stimuli that trigger fast alterations in gene expression patterns. Imaging of fluorescently tagged nucleosomes revealed that pharmacological manipulation of neuronal activity in vitro and auditory cued fear conditioning in vivo induce nucleus-scale restructuring of chromatin within minutes. Furthermore, the acquisition of auditory fear memory is impaired after infusion of a drug into auditory cortex which blocks chromatin reorganization in vitro. We propose that active chromatin movements at the nucleus scale act together with local gene-specific modifications to enable transcriptional adaptations at fast time scales. Introducing a transgenic mouse line for photolabeling of histones, we extend the realm of systems available for imaging of chromatin dynamics to living animals.