To our knowledge, only 2 studies have examined the regulatory effect of histone acetylation on the expression of BDNF mRNA in the rat hippocampus after an acute stimulation.15,20 In response to pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus, increased levels of exon I and IV of the BDNF gene were, at least in part, derived from the hyperacetylation of histone H4 at the P2 promoter and deacetylation of histone H4 associated with the P4 promoter.20 Likewise, the marked increase in histone H4 acetylation, but not histone H3 acetylation, at the P2 promoter of the BDNF gene correlated with an increase in total BDNF mRNA in the rat hippocampus 2 h after electroconvulsive seizure.15 In contrast with our study, these previous studies indicated the importance of histone H4 acetylation at the P2 promoter in the regulation of BDNF mRNA expression.
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