Editing the Epigenome to Tackle Brain Disorders

X Shawn Liu; Rudolf Jaenisch

doi:10.1016/j.tins.2019.10.003

Editing the Epigenome to Tackle Brain Disorders

Trends Neurosci. 2019 Dec;42(12):861-870. doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2019.10.003. Epub 2019 Nov 7.

Authors

X Shawn Liu¹, Rudolf Jaenisch²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
² Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Department of Biology, MIT, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 31706628
DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2019.10.003

Abstract

Genetic studies of epigenetic modifiers such as DNA methyltransferases and histone acetyltransferases have revealed a critical role for epigenetic regulation during brain development and function. Alteration of epigenetic modifications have been documented in a variety of brain disorders, including neurodevelopmental, psychiatric, and neurodegenerative diseases. Development of epigenome editing tools enables a functional dissection of the link between altered epigenetic changes and disease outcomes. Here, we review the development of epigenome editing tools, summarize proof of concept applications focusing on brain disease-associated genes, and discuss the promising application and challenges of epigenome editing to tackle brain disorders.

Keywords: CRISPR; brain disorders; dCas9; epigenome editing.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Brain Diseases / genetics*
CRISPR-Cas Systems*
DNA Methylation
Epigenesis, Genetic*
Epigenomics / methods*
Gene Editing / methods*
Humans

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding