FRI014 Exploring The Epigenetic Fingerprint Of Sedentary Behavior

Abstract Disclosure: A. Brener: None. D. Lorber: None. A. Reuveny: None. Y. Lebenthal: None. T. Volk: None. Eating habits and physical activity play a central role among the environmental factors that modulate biological aging. Sedentary lifestyle, characterized by increased waking time spent in minimal energy expenditure activity, is closely associated with increased cardiometabolic risk, a principal hallmark of aging. The biological mechanisms linking a sedentary lifestyle with metabolic derangements are incompletely understood. Exercise was reported as a stimulator of epigenetic modifications of the DNA in human muscle cell nuclei (myonuclei). Exploring the specific impact of sedentary behavior on epigenetics, especially among younger individuals, requires the exclusion of the effects of inflammatory and nutritional contributors to medical conditions. We developed an experimental animal model that imitates sedentary behavior in which a chromatin epigenetic landscape could be explored. We used third-instar Drosophila larvae carrying a temperature-sensitive mutation in the shibire gene coding for GTPase involved in neuronal synaptic vesicle transport. Shibire homozygous mutant larvae are paralyzed at restrictive temperature (>∼29°C) due to inhibition of neuromuscular junction vesicular transport, while muscle contraction is abolished without affecting other systems. Shibire and control (y,w) larvae were kept at 18°C or 30°C without food for six hours. They were then dissected, fixed and double-labeled with antibodies specific for epigenetic marks of active (H3K9ac) and repressive (H3K27me3) histone modifications. An anti-lamin fluorescent antibody served for nuclear membrane demarcation. Immunofluorescence images of epigenetic marks were acquired on a confocal microscope Zeiss LSM 800, after which a quantitative analysis of epigenetics marks was performed. At the restrictive temperature (30°C), the crawling motion of shibire mutant larvae ceased in contrast to control (shibire at 18°C). The crawling motion of the y,w larvae was similar at 18°C and 30°C. The mean repressive mark H3K27me3 decreased (p<0.001), while the mean active H3KPac increased (p<0.001) in the myonuclei of sedentary shibire larvae (30°C). The mean myonuclear active/repressed ratio of epigenetic marks (H3K9ac/H3K27me) was similar in both active shibire (18°C) and y,w at 18°C, while it increased significantly in sedentary shibire (30°C) (p<0.001). In contrast, this ratio decreased in the control larvae (y,w at 30°C) (p<0.001). The findings of this model, which was aimed at reflecting sedentary behavior in youth, revealed that muscle inactivity changed the epigenetic fingerprint in myonuclei, with a balance shift towards decreased chromatin methylation relative to acetylation. Our finding suggests a decline in the epigenetic control of gene transcription, reminiscent of decreased epigenetic repression described with aging. Presentation: Friday, June 16, 2023