Epigenetic Dysregulation by Polyglutamine-expanded Ataxin-7 In The mouse model of SCA7

To determine if STAGA complex dysfunction affects chromatin remodeling in SCA7 cerebellar degeneration, we pursued unbiased ChIP-Seq analysis of histone 3 lysine 9 acetylation (H3K9ac), as this histone mark is an established indicator of open chromatin in the transcription regulatory regions of most genes. We studied SCA7 266Q knock-in mice which faithfully recapitulate a severe, rapidly progressive neurodegenerative phenotype involving the cerebellum. We detected altered H3K9ac in the promoter regions of 777 genes in the cerebellum of SCA7 266Q knock-in mice and wild-type littermate control mice, and noted that the vast majority of these chromatin alterations corresponded to markedly increased H3K9 promoter acetylation in genes expressed in the cerebellum of SCA7 model mice. Examination of H3K9ac histone modification in cerebella of symptomatic SCA7 266Q knock-in mice and wild type littermates.