CDYL ChIP-Seq in mouse hippocampus

Here we report that the epigenetic factor Chromodomain Y-like (CDYL) protein is a critical regulator for the initiation and maintenance of activity-dependent intrinsic neuroplasticity. Genome-wide ChIP-sequencing analysis revealed that CDYL regulates multiple neuronal functional pathways including voltage-gated ion channels in mouse brains. We showed that CDYL binds to a regulatory element in the intron region of SCN8A and mainly recruits H3K27me3 activity for transcriptional repression of the gene. Injection of lentivirally-delivered CDYL shRNA to rat hippocampal neurons resulted in augmented Nav1.6-mediated sodium currents, lower neuronal threshold and increased seizure susceptibility, whereas transgenic mice over-expressing CDYL had higher neuronal threshold and were less prone to epileptogenesis. Finally, examination of human brain tissues revealed decreased expression of CDYL and increased expression of SCN8A in the temporal lobe epilepsy group. Together, our findings indicate CDYL is a critical player for experience-dependent gene regulation in controlling intrinsic excitability, which potentially contributes to learning and memory and CNS disorders involving change in activity such as epilepsy. Overall design: Examination of epigenetic factor CDYL in mouse hippocampus.