Role of histone variant H2BE in aging brain
Histone proteins regulate transcription and different variants of histone proteins are found in the brain.
The variant, H2BE regulates chromatin structure, neuronal transcription, and mouse behavior but its role in other cell types and throughout the lifespan remains unknown.
The researchers demonstrate that the histone variant H2BE is highly expressed in astrocytes and accumulates in both neurons and astrocytes with age.
H2BE is required in both neurons and astrocytes for proper synaptic function and has divergent effects on gene expression and mouse cognition in young and old mice.
The authors also demonstrate disruption in long-term memory following H2BE loss but improvement in working memory in aging mice.
https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(25)01427-5
