In vivo regulation of the β-myosin heavy chain gene in soleus muscle of suspended and weight-bearing rats

2000 ◽  
Vol 278 (6) ◽  
pp. C1153-C1161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia M. Giger ◽  
Fadia Haddad ◽  
Anqi X. Qin ◽  
Kenneth M. Baldwin

In the weight-bearing hindlimb soleus muscle of the rat, ∼90% of muscle fibers express the β-myosin heavy chain (β-MHC) isoform protein. Hindlimb suspension (HS) causes the MHC isoform population to shift from β toward the fast MHC isoforms. Our aim was to establish a model to test the hypothesis that this shift in expression is transcriptionally regulated through specific cis elements of the β-MHC promoter. With the use of a direct gene transfer approach, we determined the activity of different length β-MHC promoter fragments, linked to a firefly luciferase reporter gene, in soleus muscle of control and HS rats. In weight-bearing rats, the relative luciferase activity of the longest β-promoter fragment (−3500 bp) was threefold higher than the shorter promoter constructs, which suggests that an enhancer sequence is present in the upstream promoter region. After 1 wk of HS, the reporter activities of the −3500-, −914-, and −408-bp promoter constructs were significantly reduced (∼40%), compared with the control muscles. However, using the −215-bp construct, no differences in promoter activity were observed between HS and control muscles, which indicates that the response to HS in the rodent appears to be regulated within the −408 and −215 bp of the promoter.

1996 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. 2540-2546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Talmadge ◽  
Roland R. Roy ◽  
V. Reggie Edgerton

Talmadge, Robert J., Roland R. Roy, and V. Reggie Edgerton.Distribution of myosin heavy chain isoforms in non-weight-bearing rat soleus muscle fibers. J. Appl. Physiol. 81(6): 2540–2546, 1996.—The effects of 14 days of spaceflight (SF) or hindlimb suspension (HS) (Cosmos 2044) on myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform content of the rat soleus muscle and single muscle fibers were determined. On the basis of electrophoretic analyses, there was a de novo synthesis of type IIx MHC but no change in either type I or IIa MHC isoform proportions after either SF or HS compared with controls. The percentage of fibers containing only type I MHC decreased by 26 and 23%, and the percentage of fibers with multiple MHCs increased from 6% in controls to 32% in HS and 34% in SF rats. Type IIx MHC was always found in combination with another MHC or combination of MHCs; i.e., no fibers contained type IIx MHC exclusively. These data suggest that the expression of the normal complement of MHC isoforms in the adult rat soleus muscle is dependent, in part, on normal weight bearing and that the absence of weight bearing induces a shift toward type IIx MHC protein expression in the preexisting type I and IIa fibers of the soleus.


2001 ◽  
Vol 280 (5) ◽  
pp. C1262-C1276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carola E. Wright ◽  
P. W. Bodell ◽  
F. Haddad ◽  
A. X. Qin ◽  
K. M. Baldwin

The main goal of this study was to examine the transcriptional activity of different-length β-myosin heavy chain (β-MHC) promoters in the hypertensive rodent heart using the direct gene transfer approach. A hypertensive state was induced by abdominal aortic constriction (AbCon) sufficient to elevate mean arterial pressure by ∼45% relative to control. Results show that β-MHC promoter activity of all tested wild-type constructs, i.e., −3500, −408, −299, −215, −171, and −71 bp, was significantly increased in AbCon hearts. In the normal control hearts, expression of the −71-bp construct was comparable to that of the promoterless vector, but its induction by AbCon was comparable to that of the other constructs. Additional results, based on mutation analysis and DNA gel mobility shift assays targeting βe1, βe2, GATA, and βe3 elements, show that these previously defined cis-elements in the proximal promoter are indeed involved in maintaining basal promoter activity; however, none of these elements, either individually or collectively, appear to be major players in mediating the hypertension response of the β-MHC gene. Collectively, these results indicate that three separate regions on the β-MHC promoter are involved in the induction of the gene in response to hypertension: 1) a distal region between −408 and −3500 bp, 2) a proximal region between −299 and −215 bp, and 3) a basal region within −71 bp of the transcription start site. Future research needs to further characterize these responsive regions to more fully delineate β-MHC transcriptional regulation in response to pressure overload.


2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. McCarthy ◽  
Karyn A. Esser ◽  
Charlotte A. Peterson ◽  
Esther E. Dupont-Versteegden

There is a growing recognition that noncoding RNAs (ncRNA) play an important role in the regulation of gene expression. A class of small (19–22 nt) ncRNAs, known as microRNAs (miRs), have received a great deal of attention lately because of their ability to repress gene expression through a unique posttranscriptional 3′-untranslated region (UTR) mechanism. The objectives of the current study were to identify miRs expressed in the rat soleus muscle and determine if their expression was changed in response to hindlimb suspension. Comprehensive profiling revealed 151 miRs were expressed in the soleus muscle and expression of 18 miRs were significantly ( P < 0.01) changed after 2 and/or 7 days of hindlimb suspension. The significant decrease (16%) in expression of muscle-specific miR-499 in response to hindlimb suspension was confirmed by RT-PCR and suggested activation of the recently proposed miR encoded by myosin gene (MyomiR) network during atrophy. Further analysis of soleus muscle subjected to hindlimb suspension for 28 days provided evidence consistent with MyomiR network repression of β-myosin heavy chain gene (β-MHC) expression. The significant downregulation of network components miR-499 and miR-208b by 40 and 60%, respectively, was associated with increased expression of Sox6 (2.2-fold) and Purβ (23%), predicted target genes of miR-499 and known repressors of β-MHC expression. A Sox6 3′-UTR reporter gene confirmed Sox6 is a target gene of miR-499. These results further expand the role of miRs in adult skeletal muscle and are consistent with a model in which the MyomiR network regulates slow myosin expression during muscle atrophy.


2007 ◽  
Vol 293 (4) ◽  
pp. C1338-C1346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clay E. Pandorf ◽  
Fadia Haddad ◽  
Anqi X. Qin ◽  
Kenneth M. Baldwin

In skeletal muscle of the adult mammal IIx is a pivotal myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform that can be either up- or downregulated depending on both the fiber type of the target muscle and the type of external stimulus imposed. Since little is known about promoter elements of the IIx MHC gene that are important for its transcriptional regulation in vivo,the main goal of this study was to characterize IIx MHC promoter activity and identify potential regulatory elements on the IIx MHC promoter. A direct gene transfer approach was used, and this approach involved transfection of promoter-reporter constructs into intact rat soleus and plantaris muscle under control and denervated conditions, as well as hindlimb suspension (i.e., models to upregulate IIx MHC transcription). Fast-twitch (plantaris) muscle fibers were confirmed to have significantly greater IIx MHC transcriptional products (pre-mRNA and mRNA) than slow-twitch (soleus) muscle fibers. However, promoter sequences corresponding to −2671 to +1720, −1000 to +392, and −605/+392 relative to the IIx MHC transcription start site, plus an additional construct ligated to a putative embryonic MHC enhancer, failed to produce a fiber type-specific response that is characteristic of the endogenous IIx MHC promoter. Furthermore, the activity of these promoter constructs did not demonstrate the expected response to denervation or hindlimb suspension (i.e., marked upregulation), despite normal uptake and activity of a coinjected α-actin reference promoter. On the basis of these findings with IIx MHC promoter-reporters we conclude that the loss of the native chromatin environment as well as other necessary cis elements may preclude use of the gene transfer approach, thereby suggesting that there are hidden layers of regulation for the IIx MHC gene.


1995 ◽  
Vol 108 (4) ◽  
pp. 1779-1789 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.C. Chang ◽  
K. Fernandes ◽  
M.J. Dauncey

Members of the myosin heavy chain (MyHC) gene family show developmental stage- and spatial-specificity of expression. We report on the characterization and identification of a porcine skeletal fast MyHC gene, including its corresponding 5′ end cDNA and 5′ regulatory region. This MyHC isoform was found exclusively in skeletal muscles from about the last quarter of gestation through to adulthood. Expression of this isoform was higher postnatally and its spatial distribution resembled a rosette cluster; each with a ring of fast fibres surrounding a central slow fibre. This rosette pattern was absent in the adult diaphragm but about 20% of the fibres continued to express this MyHC isoform. Further in vivo expression studies, in a variety of morphologically and functionally diverse muscles, showed that this particular skeletal MyHC isoform was expressed in fast oxidative-glycolytic fibres, suggesting that it was the equivalent of the fast IIA isoform. Two domains in the upstream regulatory region were found to confer differentiation-specific expression on C2 myotubes (−1007 to -828 and -455 to -101), based on in vitro transient expression assays using the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene. Interestingly, for high levels of CAT expression to occur, a 3′ region, extending from the transcriptional start site to part. of intron 2, must be present in all the DNA constructs used.


1998 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
C. E Wright ◽  
F. Haddad ◽  
P. W. Bodell ◽  
K. M. Baldwin

2009 ◽  
Vol 297 (4) ◽  
pp. R1037-R1048 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clay E. Pandorf ◽  
Weihua H. Jiang ◽  
Anqi X. Qin ◽  
Paul W. Bodell ◽  
Kenneth M. Baldwin ◽  
...  

The role of calcineurin (Cn) in skeletal muscle fiber-type expression has been a subject of great interest because of reports indicating that it controls the slow muscle phenotype. To delineate the role of Cn in phenotype remodeling, particularly its role in driving expression of the type I myosin heavy chain (MHC) gene, we used a novel strategy whereby a profound transition from fast to slow fiber type is induced and examined in the absence and presence of cyclosporin A (CsA), a Cn inhibitor. To induce the fast-to-slow transition, we first subjected rats to 7 days of hindlimb suspension (HS) + thyroid hormone [triiodothyronine (T3)] to suppress nearly all expression of type I MHC mRNA in the soleus muscle. HS + T3 was then withdrawn, and rats resumed normal ambulation and thyroid state, during which vehicle or CsA (30 mg·kg−1·day−1) was administered for 7 or 14 days. The findings demonstrate that, despite significant inhibition of Cn, pre-mRNA, mRNA, and protein abundance of type I MHC increased markedly during reloading relative to HS + T3 ( P < 0.05). Type I MHC expression was, however, attenuated by CsA compared with vehicle treatment. In addition, type IIa and IIx MHC pre-mRNA, mRNA, and relative protein levels were increased in Cn-treated compared with vehicle-treated rats. These findings indicate that Cn has a modulatory role in MHC transcription, rather than a role as a primary regulator of slow MHC gene expression.


1993 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. 1211-1217 ◽  
Author(s):  
P M Buttrick ◽  
M L Kaplan ◽  
R N Kitsis ◽  
L A Leinwand

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document