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Loss of epigenetic information during physiological aging compromises cellular identity, leading to de-repression of developmental genes. Here, we assessed the epigenomic landscape of vulnerable neurons in two reference mouse models of Huntington neurodegenerative disease (HD), using cell-type-specific multi-omics, including temporal analysis at three disease stages via FANS-CUT&Tag. We show accelerated de-repression of developmental genes in HD striatal neurons, involving histone re-acetylation and depletion of H2AK119 ubiquitination and H3K27 trimethylation marks, which are catalyzed by polycomb repressive complexes 1 and 2 (PRC1 and PRC2), respectively. We further identify a PRC1-dependent subcluster of bivalent developmental transcription factors that is re-activated in HD striatal neurons. This mechanism likely involves progressive paralog switching between PRC1-CBX genes, which promotes the upregulation of normally low-expressed PRC1-CBX2/4/8 isoforms in striatal neurons, alongside the down-regulation of predominant PRC1-CBX isoforms in these cells (e.g., CBX6/7). Collectively, our data provide evidence for PRC1-dependent accelerated epigenetic aging in HD vulnerable neurons.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56722-z | DOI Listing |
Stem Cell Reports
September 2025
Neural Stem Cells and Neuroimaging Group, Department of Neurobiology, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, 11521 Athens, Greece. Electronic address:
In the adult brain, neural stem cells (NSCs) constitutively generate new neurons in specific neurogenic domains. Recent research has unveiled reactive neurogenesis, whereby brain injury triggers NSC activation, enhancing their differentiation potential and guiding progeny to injured areas. Our study provides evidence of alternative migration pathways for newborn neurons in the mouse subcortical forebrain, revealed by administration of a chemotherapeutic agent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInflammopharmacology
September 2025
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, October University for Modern Sciences and Arts (MSA University), Giza, Egypt.
The neuroprotective potential of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), potent anticancer drugs, was verified against various neurodegenerative insults, but not Huntington's disease (HD). These promising outcomes were due to their ability to modulate various intracellular signalling pathways. Hence, the current study aimed to evaluate the neuroprotective effects of lapatinib and pazopanib in the 3-nitropropionic (3-NP)-induced HD model in rats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRSC Med Chem
August 2025
Department of Biological Science, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani Hyderabad Campus, Jawahar Nagar, Kapra Mandal, Medchal District Telangana 500078 India
Mitochondrial dysfunction is one of the primary cellular conditions involved in developing Huntington's disease (HD) pathophysiology. The accumulation of mutant huntingtin protein with abnormal PolyQ repeats resulted in the death of striatal neurons with enhanced mitochondrial fragmentation. In search of neuroprotective molecules against HD conditions, we synthesized a set of isoxazole-based small molecules to screen their suitability as beneficial chemicals improving mitochondrial health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrain
September 2025
Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, 904-0495, Japan.
Animal models of the pathology of Parkinson's disease (PD) have provided most of the treatments to date, but the disease is restricted to human patients. In vitro models using human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs)-derived neural organoids have provided improved access to study PD etiology. This study established a method to generate human striatal-midbrain assembloids (hSMAs) from hPSCs for modeling alpha-synuclein (α-syn) propagation and recapitulating basal ganglia circuits, including nigrostriatal and striatonigral pathways.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIBRO Neurosci Rep
December 2025
Department of Pharmacy, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, PR China.
Objective: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder characterized pathologically by the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, leading to a significant decline in striatal dopamine levels. This study aims to systematically analyze alterations in striatal metabolites across different stages of PD to identify potential biomarkers, elucidate pathological mechanisms, and explore therapeutic targets.
Methods: A total of 72 mice were divided into six groups, including one control group and five PD model groups (W1-W5, representing distinct stages based on the duration of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine/probenecid induction).