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Epigenetic function in neurodevelopment and cognitive impairment

  • Mira Jakovcevski

    Mira Jakovcevski is a senior scientist, currently working in the Department of Functional Epigenetics in the Animal Model (head: Prof. Dr. Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch) at the RWTH Aachen University. Prior to this position, she trained in prestigious neuroscience and neuroepigenetics labs, including the Schachner lab (ZMNH, Hamburg), Akbarian lab (UMASS Medical School, MA; Mt. Sinai, NY), and in the Neurogenetics lab at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry (Munich). Dr. Jakovcevski is interested in understanding the molecular aspects of how behavior and gene expression interact with each other. Herein, she focuses on epigenetic mechanisms, as an important junction between these different biological processes and a mediator of environmental factors and the genetic make up.

     ORCID logo EMAIL logo     and Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch

    Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch is a distinguished Professor of Neuroepigenetics at the RWTH Aachen University, Germany. Since the beginning of her academic career, starting at the Friedrich-Schiller University in Jena, Germany, she was fascinated by the brain and its formation. Following her postdoctoral training at the UFRJ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, she became the head of the “Neuroepigenetics” research group at the University Hospital Jena (UKJ), before being appointed as a Professor at the RWTH Aachen University. Being an independent PI at the UKJ, she focused on the identification of epigenetic regulatory networks, which direct discrete neurodevelopmental processes. Her ultimate goal is to dissect causes for neurodevelopment defects and hence, the pathophysiology of associated diseases.

     ORCID logo EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: December 21, 2021
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Neuroforum
From the journal Neuroforum Volume 28 Issue 1

Abstract

Brain development comprises a fine-tuned ensemble of molecular processes that need to be orchestrated in a very coordinated way throughout time and space. A wide array of epigenetic mechanisms, ranging from DNA methylation and histone modifications to noncoding RNAs, have been identified for their major role in guiding developmental processes such as progenitor proliferation, neuronal migration, and differentiation through precise regulation of gene expression programs. The importance of epigenetic processes during development is reflected by the high prevalence of neurodevelopmental diseases which are caused by a lack or mutation of genes encoding for transcription factors and other epigenetic regulators. Most of these factors process central functions for proper brain development, and respective mutations lead to severe cognitive defects. A better understanding of epigenetic programs during development might open new routes toward better treatment options for related diseases.

Zusammenfassung

Die Gehirnentwicklung basiert auf zeitlich und räumlich fein aufeinander abgestimmten Entwicklungsprozessen, wie Proliferation neuronaler Vorläuferzellen, deren Migration und Differenzierung. Die diesen Vorgängen zu Grunde liegenden Genexpressionsprogramme werden durch epigenetische Mechanismen wie DNA-Methylierung, Histonmodifikationen und nicht-kodierenden RNAs gesteuert und moduliert. Diverse Neuroentwicklungskrankheiten beruhen auf dem Verlust oder der Mutation von Genen, die für epigenetische Regulatoren kodieren, wodurch die Relevanz epigenetischer Transkriptionskontrolle für die Gehirnentwicklung verdeutlicht wird. Viele dieser Faktoren regulieren kritische Aspekte der neuronalen Entwicklung, was erklärt, warum entsprechende Mutationen zu schwerwiegenden kognitiven Defiziten führen können. Daher kann ein besseres Verständnis von epigenetischen Regulationsnetzwerken neuronaler Entwicklungsprozesse neue Wege zur Etablierung von verbesserten Therapiestrategien für assoziierte Erkrankungen eröffnen.

Keywords: monogenic disease; neural development; transcriptional regulation
Schlüsselwörter: monogene Krankheiten; neurale Entwicklung; Transkriptionsregulierung
Corresponding authors: Mira Jakovcevski, Functional Epigenetics in the Animal Model, Institute for Biology II, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany, E-mail: ; and Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch, Functional Epigenetics in the Animal Model, Institute for Biology II, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany; and Research Training Group 2416 MultiSenses-MultiScales, Institute for Biology II, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany, E-mail:

Funding source: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation)

Award Identifier / Grant number: 368482240/GRK2416DFG

Award Identifier / Grant number: DFG ZI1224/13-1

About the authors

Mira Jakovcevski

Mira Jakovcevski is a senior scientist, currently working in the Department of Functional Epigenetics in the Animal Model (head: Prof. Dr. Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch) at the RWTH Aachen University. Prior to this position, she trained in prestigious neuroscience and neuroepigenetics labs, including the Schachner lab (ZMNH, Hamburg), Akbarian lab (UMASS Medical School, MA; Mt. Sinai, NY), and in the Neurogenetics lab at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry (Munich). Dr. Jakovcevski is interested in understanding the molecular aspects of how behavior and gene expression interact with each other. Herein, she focuses on epigenetic mechanisms, as an important junction between these different biological processes and a mediator of environmental factors and the genetic make up.

Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch

Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch is a distinguished Professor of Neuroepigenetics at the RWTH Aachen University, Germany. Since the beginning of her academic career, starting at the Friedrich-Schiller University in Jena, Germany, she was fascinated by the brain and its formation. Following her postdoctoral training at the UFRJ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, she became the head of the “Neuroepigenetics” research group at the University Hospital Jena (UKJ), before being appointed as a Professor at the RWTH Aachen University. Being an independent PI at the UKJ, she focused on the identification of epigenetic regulatory networks, which direct discrete neurodevelopmental processes. Her ultimate goal is to dissect causes for neurodevelopment defects and hence, the pathophysiology of associated diseases.

  1. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  2. Research funding: This research was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) – 368482240/GRK2416DFG; DFG ZI1224/13-1 (both assigned to GZB).

  3. Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.

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Published Online: 2021-12-21
Published in Print: 2022-02-23

© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Review Articles
  3. Neurobiology of phenotypic plasticity in the light of climate change
  4. What the eye tells the brain: retinal feature extraction
  5. Emergence of synaptic organization and computation in dendrites
  6. Brain–body communication in stroke
  7. Epigenetic function in neurodevelopment and cognitive impairment
  8. presentation of scientific institutions
  9. Forschungsgruppe (FOR5159) Resolving the prefrontal circuits of cognitive flexibility
  10. News
  11. Nachrichten aus der Gesellschaft
https://doi.org/10.1515/nf-2021-0028
Keywords for this article
monogenic disease; neural development; transcriptional regulation

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Review Articles
  3. Neurobiology of phenotypic plasticity in the light of climate change
  4. What the eye tells the brain: retinal feature extraction
  5. Emergence of synaptic organization and computation in dendrites
  6. Brain–body communication in stroke
  7. Epigenetic function in neurodevelopment and cognitive impairment
  8. presentation of scientific institutions
  9. Forschungsgruppe (FOR5159) Resolving the prefrontal circuits of cognitive flexibility
  10. News
  11. Nachrichten aus der Gesellschaft
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