Promoter methylation of Egr-1 site contributes to fetal hypoxia-mediated PKCε gene repression in the developing heart

Fetal hypoxia causes protein kinase Cε (PKCε) gene repression in the heart resulting in heightened ischemic injury in male offspring in a sex-dependent manner. The present study tested the hypothesis that heightened methylation of the early growth response factor-1 (Egr-1) binding site at PKCε gene promoter contributes to sex dimorphism of hypoxia-induced programming of PKCε gene repression in the developing heart. Pregnant rats were divided into normoxic and hypoxic (10.5% O2 from day 15 to 21 of gestation) groups. Hypoxia selectively decreased PKCε mRNA and protein abundance in the heart of male, but not female, near-term (21 days) fetuses. Methylation of the CpG site at the Egr-1 binding site of PKCε promoter was significantly increased in the male hearts by hypoxia, resulting in decreased Egr-1 binding affinity and reduced Egr-1 binding to the PKCε promoter. Nuclear Egr-1 levels were not affected by hypoxia. There was significantly higher abundance of estrogen receptor α (ERα) and β (ERβ) isoforms in female than in male fetal hearts, which were not significantly altered by hypoxia. Both ERα and ERβ bind to the Egr-1 binding site with significant greater levels in the female fetal hearts. The increased methylation with reduced Egr-1 binding and PKCε gene repression persisted in 3-mo-old adult male hearts in a sex-dependent manner. The results indicate a key role for heightened methylation of the Egr-1 binding site in hypoxia-mediated programming of PKCε gene repression in the developing heart and suggest a novel protective mechanism of ER by binding to the Egr-1 binding site in epigenetic regulation of PKCε gene expression patterns in the early developmental stage.