Increase in GFAP-positive astrocytes in histone demethylase GASC1/KDM4C/JMJD2C hypomorphic mutant mice

GASC1, also known as KDM4C/JMJD2C, is a histone demethylase for histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) and H3K36. In this study, we observed an increase of GFAP-positive astrocytes in the brain of Gasc1 hypomorphic mutant mice at 2-3 months of age, but not at postnatal day 14 and day 30 by immunohistochemistry. Increases of GFAP-positive astrocytes were widely observed in the forebrain and prominent in such regions as cerebral cortex, caudate putamen, amygdala and diencephalon, but not obvious in hippocampus. Taken together with our observations to be published elsewhere that Gasc1 hypomorphic mutant mice exhibit abnormal behaviors including hyperactivity, persistence and many types of learning and memory deficits and abnormal synaptic functions such as prolonged long-term potentiation, the increase in GFAP-positive astrocytes may help understand their phenotypes, because astrocytes are known to affect synaptic plasticity.