Acetyl CoA metabolism by ACSS2 regulates neuronal histone acetylation and hippocampal memory [RNA-seq In Vivo]

Metabolic production of acetyl-CoA has been linked to histone acetylation and gene regulation, however the mechanisms are largely unknown. We show that the metabolic enzyme acetyl-CoA synthetase 2 (ACSS2) is a critical and direct regulator of histone acetylation in neurons and of mammalian spatial object memory. We observe increased nuclear ACSS2 in differentiating neurons in vitro. Genome-wide, ACSS2 binding corresponds with increased histone acetylation and gene expression of key neuronal genes. These data indicate that ACSS2 functions as a chromatin-bound co-activator to increase local concentrations of acetyl-CoA and to locally promote histone acetylation for transcription of neuron-specific genes. Remarkably, in vivo attenuation of hippocampal ACSS2 expression in adult mice impairs long-term spatial memory, a cognitive process reliant on histone acetylation. ACSS2 reduction in hippocampus also leads to a defect in upregulation of key neuronal genes involved in memory, and these hippocampal genes are pre-bound by ACSS2. These results reveal a unique connection between cellular metabolism, gene regulation, and neural plasticity, establishing a link between generation of acetyl-CoA “on-site” at chromatin of critical neuronal genes.