Association of RASgrf1 methylation with epileptic seizures

DNA methylation, one of the mechanisms of epigenetic regulation, has been suggested to be related with epilepsy. RASgrf1 is a paternally imprinted gene and has a differentially methylated region (DMR) at the promoter that can silence gene expression. We have previously observed the down-regulation of RASgrf1 in the temporal neocortex of epilepsy patients and in the hippocampus of epileptic animals. Here, we further explored the dynamic change (1-day acute period, 10-day latent period and 45-day chronic phase) of DNA methylation and RASgrf1 expression after acute epileptic seizures in kainic acid (KA)-treated mice, and we observed the impact of N-phthalyl-L-tryptophan (RG108), a DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) inhibitor, on an acute epileptic model by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), western blotting, and bisulfite sequencing PCR (BSP). The results directly showed that the methylation of the RASgrf1 promoter gradually increased and reached a maximal level at the latent period, with subsequent suppression of RASgrf1 mRNA and protein expression levels, which reached a minimum level in the chronic phase. RG108 inhibited the increased methylation of the RASgrf1 gene, with significant inhibition occurring at the latent period, and restored RASgrf1 expression levels in the chronic phase. In addition, we demonstrated that RG108 could suppress acute epileptic seizures in KA-treated mice and epileptic discharges in 4-aminopyridine (4-AP)-treated hippocampal slices. These findings demonstrate that RASgrf1 is closely associated with epilepsy via the aberrant methylation of RASgrf1, and regulating the methylation status of relevant genes might be an intriguing topic in future research on epilepsy.