ABSTRACT
Aim To explore whether histone modifications are involved in the process of uterine injury alleviated by TSA in female mice induced by cigarette smoke (CS) exposure. Methods Female mice were exposed to CS twice daily for 30 days and TSA was injected intraperitoneally into CS-exposed mice on alternate days in the TSA-treated group. HE staining was used to observe the morphological changes of mice uterus after CS exposure; Western blot was used to assess the global modification levels of H3K4mel, H3K4me2, H3K4me3, H3K9mel, H3K9me2, H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 in uteri. GLP (H3K9 his-tone methyltransferase) , G9a (H3K9 histone methyl- transferase) , EZH2 (H3K27me3 histone methyltrans ferase ). Results TSA effectively restored the number of glandular and interstitial cells reduced by CS exposure. Western blot results showed that TSA significantly inhibited global H3K9mel modification and further aggravated H3K27me3 change induced by CS exposure. Furthermore TSA suppressed GLP and G9n expression in mouse uterine tissue induced by CS exposure, but further activated EZH2 increase. Conclusions Histone modifications are involved in the process of uterine injury alleviated by TSA in female mice induced by cigarette smoke exposure.