Figure 2

Evidence of dynamic DNA methylation in the adult hippocampus. (i) Granule neurons on the dentate gyrus (DG) show rapid demethylation of Fgf-1 and Bdnf exon IX after electroconvulsive treatment that correlates with an increase in neurogenesis (Ma et al., 2009b); (ii) Pyramidal neurons of the CA1 region show rapid decrease in methylation of Reelin and Bdnf and increase in methylation of Protein phosphatase 1 β as a part of memory consolidation (Miller and Sweatt, 2007; Lubin et al., 2008); (iii) Pyramidal neurons of the CA3 region in the offspring have perturbed levels of DNA methylation due to maternal cocaine administration during the late stages of gestation (Novikova et al., 2008). Note: Gain or loss of DNA methylation is indicated by arrows. Red and green cells in the DG correspond to the 4-week-old adult-born neurons that were labeled with red/green retroviruses. Blue cells correspond to the 4’,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI)-stained nuclei representing neurons and glial cells. (Images of the Nissl-stained section of the mouse brain and the fluorescently stained section of hippocampus are courtesy of E Englberger and S Herold.)