Epigenetic dysregulation in the developing Down syndrome cortex

Abstract

<p>Using Illumina 450K arrays, 1.85% of all analyzed CpG sites were significantly hypermethylated and 0.31% hypomethylated in fetal Down syndrome (DS) cortex throughout the genome. The methylation changes on chromosome 21 appeared to be balanced between hypo- and hyper-methylation, whereas, consistent with prior reports, all other chromosomes showed 3–11 times more hyper- than hypo-methylated sites. Reduced <i>NRSF/REST</i> expression due to upregulation of <i>DYRK1A</i> (on chromosome 21q22.13) and methylation of REST binding sites during early developmental stages may contribute to this genome-wide excess of hypermethylated sites. Upregulation of <i>DNMT3L</i> (on chromosome 21q22.4) could lead to <i>de novo</i> methylation in neuroprogenitors, which then persists in the fetal DS brain where <i>DNMT3A</i> and <i>DNMT3B</i> become downregulated. The vast majority of differentially methylated promoters and genes was hypermethylated in DS and located outside chromosome 21, including the protocadherin gamma (<i>PCDHG</i>) cluster on chromosome 5q31, which is crucial for neural circuit formation in the developing brain. Bisulfite pyrosequencing and targeted RNA sequencing showed that several genes of <i>PCDHG</i> subfamilies A and B are hypermethylated and transcriptionally downregulated in fetal DS cortex. Decreased <i>PCDHG</i> expression is expected to reduce dendrite arborization and growth in cortical neurons. Since constitutive hypermethylation of <i>PCDHG</i> and other genes affects multiple tissues, including blood, it may provide useful biomarkers for DS brain development and pharmacologic targets for therapeutic interventions.</p