Methylation

The ferrocenylrnethylation of the following compounds was studied
using (ferrocenylmethyl)trimethylammonium iodide: 1, 1-di(p-anisyl)-
ethene (I), 1, 1-di(p- anisyl)propene (II), 1- (p- anisyl)-1-phenylethene
(III), 1, 1- diphenylethene (IV), 1, 1- di(p- dimethylaminophenyl )ethene
(V) and 1, 1-di(p-dimethylaminophenyl)propene (VI). I is ferrocenylmethylated
exclu,sively on its side-chain, one or both vinyl hydrogens
being replaced by ferrocenylmethyl groups depending on the ratio of
ferrocenylmethylating agent to I, concentration of the reaction mixture,
reaction time, solvent and temperature. II is substituted only on its
side-chain to give a mono-ferrocenylmethylated product. III is ferrocenylmethylated
slowly. IV fails to react. Mono-ferrocenylmethylation
of V occurs principally on its side- chain; more extensive ferrocenylmethylation
occurs both on the side-chain and on the rings at the
position ortho to dimethylamino. VI reacts quite indiscriminately both
on the side-chain and on the rings.

DNA methylation, the addition of a methyl group to the 5' position of DNA cytosines (5mC), is generally associated with transcriptional repression during early embryo formation ; however, in the adult brain, it is dynamically regulated and plays an important role in the formation and maintenance of memory. Very recently, it has been hypothesized that DNA hydroxymethylation, the addition of a hydroxyl group to methylated cytosines (5mC), serves as an intermediate in the DNA demethylation pathway. GIven its recent discovery, the role of DNA hydroxymethylation in memory has not yet been explored. In this study, we developed an immunofluorescent triple labeling protocol in order to begin examining the involvement of 5mC and 5hmC in neurons activated by consolidation of a contextual memory associated with methamphetamine in the brain's reward center, the nucleus accumbens.