AUTHOR=Xu Yanru , Zhong Liying , Wei Huixian , Li Yuwei , Xie Jiaxiang , Xie Leijie , Chen Xiusheng , Guo Xiangyu , Yin Peng , Li Shihua , Zeng Junwei , Li Xiao-Jiang , Lin Li TITLE=Brain Region- and Age-Dependent 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine Activity in the Non-Human Primate JOURNAL=Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience VOLUME=14 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/aging-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2022.934224 DOI=10.3389/fnagi.2022.934224 ISSN=1663-4365 ABSTRACT=

Because of the difficulty in collecting fresh brains of humans at different ages, it remains unknown how epigenetic regulation occurs in the primate brains during aging. In the present study, we examined the genomic distribution of 5hmC, an indicator of DNA methylation, in the brain regions of non-human primates (rhesus monkey) at the ages of 2 (juvenile), 8 (young adult), and 17 (old) years. We found that genomic 5hmC distribution was accumulated in the monkey brain as age increased and displayed unique patterns in the cerebellum and striatum in an age-dependent manner. We also observed a correlation between differentially hydroxymethylated regions (DhMRs) and genes that contribute to brain region-related functions and diseases. Our studies revealed, for the first time, the brain-region and age-dependent 5hmC modifications in the non-human primate and the association of these 5hmC modifications with brain region-specific function and potentially aging-related brain diseases.