FTO-Dependent m6A RNA Dysregulation Underlies Memory Deficits Induced by Early-Life Stress

Cognitive functions in adults are mainly attributed to experience-dependent plasticity. Nonetheless, the developmental encoding of memory deficits is still inadequately addressed. Here, we demonstrate that early-life stress (ELS) reprograms the hippocampal epitranscriptome by enhancing N6-methyladenosine (m6A) deposits during early development leading to memory deficit in adulthood. We observed a shift toward hypermethylation of transcripts including coding and non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) following maternal separation. We also observed that these transcripts encoding proteins necessary for translational regulation, ribosome biogenesis and mitochondrial function. This epitranscriptomic change is driven by ELS-induced downregulation of the m6A demethylase FTO (Fat mass and obesity-associated protein). We observe that the overexpression of FTO in young adult mice selectively rescues memory deficits without ameliorating elevated anxiety. Further, the knockdown of FTO in primary hippocampal neuron, mimicking ELS - induced reduction of its expression, leads to reduced translation as detected by puromycin labelling. Taken together, our study demonstrated previously uncharacterized mechanism of ELS-induced epitranscriptomic change linked with memory deficit via the regulation of protein synthesis.