MeCP2 Differentially Regulate the Myelin MBP and PLP Protein Expression in Oligodendrocytes and C6 Glioma

Abstract

MeCP2 (methyl-CpG binding protein 2), an epigenetic regulator, has been shown to regulate the function of neurons and glial cells. Our previous study has demonstrated that MeCP2 repress the myelin gene expression in rat oligodendrocytes but whether MeCP2 bind to myelin gene MBP and PLP is not yet known. Besides oligodendrocytes, C6 glioma also expresses myelin genes and could be used as a model system to study myelin gene expression. In the present study, we determined that MeCP2 directly bind to MBP, PLP, and BDNF promoter in oligodendrocytes. Further, it was found that MeCP2 differentially regulates the myelin gene expression in oligodendrocytes and C6 glioma. In contrast to oligodendrocytes, MeCP2 does not bind to promoter region of MBP and PLP in C6 glioma suggest that MeCP2 differentially regulates the gene expression in different cell types.