Department of Neuroscience

Research Abstract

Our laboratory studies molecular mechanisms of gene regulation that contribute to development and plasticity in the mammalian brain. We combine genetic, genomic, and biochemical approaches in mouse and human models to identify and dissect important gene-regulatory pathways in neurons. A broad goal of this work is to understand how disruption of transcriptional regulation can lead to neurodevelopmental disease, including autism spectrum disorders... read more

Selected Publications

• Christian DL*, Wu DY*, Martin JR, Moore JR, Liu YR, Clemens AW, Nettles SA, Kirkland NM, Papouin T, Hill CA, Wozniak DF, Dougherty JD, Gabel HW. DNMT3A Haploinsufficiency Results in Behavioral Deficits and Global Epigenomic Dysregulation Shared across Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Cell Rep. 2020 Nov 24;33(8):108416. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108416. PMID: 33238114.
• Clemens AW, Gabel HW. Emerging Insights into the Distinctive Neuronal Methylome. Trends Genet. 2020 Nov;36(11):816-832. doi: 10.1016/j.tig.2020.07.009. Epub 2020 Aug 21.
• Goodman JV, Yamada T, Yang Y, Kong L, Wu DY, Zhao G, Gabel HW, Bonni A. The chromatin remodeling enzyme Chd4 regulates genome architecture in the mouse brain. Nat Commun. 2020 Jul 9;11(1):3419. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-17065-z.
• Clemens AW*, Wu DY*, Moore JR, Christian DC, Zhao G, Gabel HW. MeCP2 represses enhancers through chromosome topology-associated DNA methylation. Molecular Cell. Epub 2019 Nov 26.
• Kinde, BZ, Wu D, Greenberg ME, Gabel HW. DNA methylation in the gene body influences MeCP2-mediated gene repression. PNAS. 2016;113(52):15114-9. Epub 2016/12/15. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1618737114. PubMed PMID: 27965390; PMCID: PMC5206576
• Gabel H.W., Kinde B.Z., Stroud H., Harmin D.A., Hemberg M., Gilbert C.S., Ebert D.H., Greenberg M.E. Disruption of DNA-methylation-dependent long gene repression in Rett syndrome. Nature. 2015 Jun 4;522(7554):89-93. doi: 10.1038/nature14319. Epub 2015 Mar 11.
• Kinde, B.Z., Gabel H.W., Gilbert C.S., Griffith E.C., Greenberg M.E. Reading the unique DNA methylation landscape of the brain: Non-CpG methylation, hydroxymethylation, and MeCP2. PNAS. 2015 Jun 2;112(22):6800-6. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1411269112. Epub 2015 Mar 4.
• Cohen S, Gabel HW, Hemberg M, Hutchinson AN, Sadacca LA, Ebert DH, Harmin DA, Greenberg RS, Verdine VK, Zhou Z, Wetsel WC, West AE, Greenberg ME. Genome-wide activity-dependent MeCP2 phosphorylation regulates nervous system development and function. Neuron. 2011 Oct 6;72(1):72-85.
• Gabel HW, Ruvkun G. The exonuclease ERI-1 has a conserved dual role in 5.8S rRNA processing and RNAi. Nat. Struc. Mol. Bio. 2008 May;15(5):531-3.
• Kim JK, Gabel HW, Kamath RS, Tewari M, Pasquinelli A, Rual JF, Kennedy S, Dybbs M, Bertin N, Kaplan JM, Vidal M, Ruvkun G. Functional genomic analysis of RNA interference in C.elegans. Science. 2005 May 20;308(5725):1164-7.

For a complete list of Dr. Gabel's publications, click here.