Muscle-specific and inducible expression of 293-base pair beta-myosin heavy chain promoter in transgenic mice

1996 ◽  
Vol 271 (3) ◽  
pp. R688-R695 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Wiedenman ◽  
G. L. Tsika ◽  
L. Gao ◽  
J. J. McCarthy ◽  
I. D. Rivera-Rivera ◽  
...  

The DNA regulatory element(s) involved in beta-myosin heavy chain (beta-MHC) induction by the physiological stimulus of mechanical overload have not been identified as yet. To delineate regulatory sequences that are required for mechanical overload induction of the beta-MHC gene, transgenic mouse lines were generated that harbor transgenes containing serial deletions of the human beta-MHC promoter to nucleotides -293 (beta 293), -201 (beta 201), and -141 (beta 141) from the transcription start site (+1). Mechanically overloaded adult plantaris and soleus muscles contained 11- and 1.9-fold increases, respectively, in endogenous beta-MHC-specific mRNA transcripts (Northern blot) compared with sham-operated controls. Expression assays (chloramphenicol acetyltransferase specific activity) revealed that only transgene beta 293 expression was muscle specific in both fetal and adult mice and was induced in the plantaris (10- to 27-fold) and soleus (2- to 2.5-fold) muscles by mechanical overload. Histochemical staining for myosin adenosinetriphosphatase activity revealed a fiber-type transition of type II to type I in the overloaded plantaris and soleus muscles. These transgenic data suggest that sequences located between nucleotides -293 and +120 may be sufficient to regulate the endogenous beta-MHC gene in response to developmental signals and to the physiological signals generated by mechanical overload in fast- and slow-twitch muscles.

1997 ◽  
Vol 272 (5) ◽  
pp. R1552-R1561 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. McCarthy ◽  
A. M. Fox ◽  
G. L. Tsika ◽  
L. Gao ◽  
R. W. Tsika

Non-weight-bearing (NWB) activity [space flight and hindlimb suspension (HS)] results in the loss of soleus muscle mass, a slow-to-fast fiber-type conversion, and decreased beta-myosin heavy chain (beta-MHC) protein and mRNA expression. To identify beta-MHC promoter sequences required for decreased beta-MHC expression in response to HS, we have modified an existing noninvasive hindlimb unweighting model to accommodate the use of (transgenic) mice. After 2 wk of HS, body and muscle (soleus > gastrocnemius > plantaris) weights were decreased as was the proportion of histochemically classified type I fibers in HS soleus muscle. Northern blot analysis revealed decreases in endogenous mRNA representing beta-MHC, slow myosin light chain 1 and 2, and cardiac/slow troponin C, whereas those representing skeletal troponin C, muscle creatine kinase, and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase increased. Protein extracts prepared from HS soleus (SS) muscle of mice harboring transgenes comprised of 5.6 or 0.6 kilobase of wild type (wt) mouse beta-MHC promoter (beta 5.6 wt, beta 0.6wt) and those carrying the simultaneous mutation (mut) of the MCAT, C-rich, and beta e3 subregions (beta 5.6mut3, beta 0.6mut3) revealed decreases in chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) specific activity relative to respective controls. Decreased CAT mRNA was observed for transgene beta 5.6mut3, line 85. Two weeks of the simultaneous imposition of mechanical overload (synergist ablation) and HS (MOV/HS) countermanded the loss in absolute and normalized SS weight but did not decrease beta 0.6wt transgene expression. These transgenic results demonstrate that regulatory sequences within a 600-base pair beta-MHC promoter are sufficient to direct decreased transcription of beta-MHC transgenes after 2 wk of HS.


1996 ◽  
Vol 271 (2) ◽  
pp. C690-C699 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. L. Tsika ◽  
J. L. Wiedenman ◽  
L. Gao ◽  
J. J. McCarthy ◽  
K. Sheriff-Carter ◽  
...  

Mechanical overload leads to hypertrophy, increased type I fiber composition, and beta-myosin heavy chain (beta-MHC) induction in the fast-twitch plantaris muscle. To better understand the mechanism(s) involved in beta-MHC induction, we have examined inducible expression of transgenes carrying the simultaneous mutation of three DNA regulatory subregions [muscle CAT (MCAT), C-rich, and beta e3] in the context of either 5,600-base pair (bp; beta 5.6mut3) or 600-bp (beta 0.6mut3) beta-MHC promoter in overloaded plantaris muscles of transgenic mice. Protein extract from mechanically overloaded plantaris muscle of mice, harboring either mutant transgene beta 5.6mut3 or beta 0.6mut3, showed an unexpected 2.8- to 4.5-fold increase in chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) specific activity relative to their respective controls. Similar results were obtained with wild-type (wt) beta-MHC transgenes (beta 5.6wt, beta 0.6wt). Histochemical staining for both myofibrillar ATPase and CAT activity and CAT immunohistochemistry revealed a striking increase in type I fibers and that CAT expression was restricted to these fibers in overloaded plantaris muscle of beta 5.6mut3 transgenic mice. Our transgenic data suggest that beta-MHC transgenes, and perhaps the endogenous beta-MHC gene, are induced by mechanical overload via a mechanism(s) that does not exclusively require the MCAT, C-rich, or beta e3 subregions.


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.


2007 ◽  
Vol 116 (9) ◽  
pp. 643-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melinda V. Davis ◽  
Albert L. Merati ◽  
Safwan S. Jaradeh ◽  
Joel H. Blumin

Objectives: Cricopharyngeal achalasia (CA) can be defined as inadequate opening of the cricopharyngeus muscle (CPM) resulting in dysphagia. Myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform fiber type composition and size are key determinants of muscle function. These parameters have not been described in CA. It is hypothesized that there is a difference between the MHC isoform composition of the CPM in patients with the clinical diagnosis of CA and that in normal subjects. Methods: Patients who had received prior botulinum were excluded. The MHC fiber type composition and size in patients and cadaveric controls were determined by adenosine triphosphatase staining and image analysis. Results: The CPMs of 12 CA patients (6 male, 6 female; mean age, 61 years) and 5 control cadaveric subjects (3 male, 2 female; mean age, 67 years) were analyzed. There were relatively fewer type I fibers (67%) in patients with CA than in controls (81%), but the difference was not significant (p = 18). Type I fibers were slightly smaller in CA patients (38.7 μm) than in controls (47.2 μm), but this was not significantly different (p > 05). Of the 12 CA patients, 3 had type II predominance, a feature not seen in normal subjects. Conclusions: Patients with CA had relatively fewer type I fibers, although the difference was not statistically significant. The MHC isoform composition and fiber size were not different between CA patients and normal subjects. This is the first report to characterize the CPM in patients with CA.


Genetics ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 157 (1) ◽  
pp. 259-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M Standiford ◽  
Wei Tao Sun ◽  
Mary Beth Davis ◽  
Charles P Emerson

Abstract Alternative splicing of Drosophila muscle myosin heavy chain (MHC) transcripts is precisely regulated to ensure the expression of specific MHC isoforms required for the distinctive contractile activities of physiologically specialized muscles. We have used transgenic expression analysis in combination with mutagenesis to identify cis-regulatory sequences that are required for muscle-specific splicing of exon 11, which is encoded by five alternative exons that produce alternative “converter” domains in the MHC head. Here, we report the identification of three conserved intronic elements (CIE1, -2, and -3) that control splicing of exon 11e in the indirect flight muscle (IFM). Each of these CIE elements has a distinct function: CIE1 acts as a splice repressor, while CIE2 and CIE3 behave as splice enhancers. These CIE elements function in combination with a nonconsensus splice donor to direct IFM-specific splicing of exon 11e. An additional cis-regulatory element that is essential in coordinating the muscle-specific splicing of other alternative exon 11s is identified. Therefore, multiple interacting intronic and splice donor elements establish the muscle-specific splicing of alternative exon 11s.


1993 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 911-915 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. R. Adams ◽  
B. M. Hather ◽  
K. M. Baldwin ◽  
G. A. Dudley

We recently reported that 19 wk of heavy resistance training caused a decrease in the percentage of type IIb and an increase in the percentage of type IIa fibers as determined by qualitative histochemical analyses of myofibrillar adenosinetriphosphatase activity of biopsies of musculus vastus lateralis (Hather et al. Acta Physiol. Scand. 143: 177–185, 1991). These data were interpreted to suggest that resistance training had caused transformation among the fast-twitch fiber subtypes. To more clearly establish the influence of resistance training on muscle fiber composition, biopsies from the original study were analyzed biochemically for myosin heavy chain (MHC) composition by use of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and histochemically for fiber types by use of myofibrillar adenosinetriphosphatase activity. The results show that after training (n = 13), IIb MHC composition decreased (P < 0.05) from 19 +/- 4 to 7 +/- 1%. IIa MHC, in contrast, increased (P < 0.05) from 48 +/- 3 to 60 +/- 2%. These responses were essentially mirrored by alterations in fiber type distribution. The percentage of type IIb fibers decreased (P < 0.05) from 18 +/- 3 to 1 +/- 1%, whereas the percentage of type IIa fibers increased from 46 +/- 4 to 60 +/- 3% (P < 0.05). Neither I MHC composition nor type I fiber percentage changed with training. The control group (n = 4) showed no changes in MHC composition or fiber type distribution. These results suggest that heavy resistance training alters MHC composition in human skeletal muscle, presumably reflecting a change in genetic expression.


2003 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.A.M. Korfage ◽  
T.M.G.J. Van Eijden

In this study we compared the immunohistochemically quantified fiber type area with the myosin heavy chain (MyHC) contents of a bundle of fibers from a human masticatory muscle. The total cross-sectional areas were determined immunohistochemically for the three major fiber types (I, IIA, and IIX) in bundles of fibers ( n = 42) taken from the anterior and posterior belly of the human digastric muscle ( n = 7). The relative MyHC contents of the same fiber bundles were determined electrophoretically (MyHC-I, -IIA, and -IIX; anterior, 32%, 35%, and 33%; posterior, 39%, 42%, and 19%) and compared with the immunohistochemical data (MyHC-I, -IIA, and -IIX; anterior, 32%, 31%, and 37%; posterior, 39%, 45%, and 15%). No significant differences were seen in the mean fiber type distribution between the two techniques; the correlation coefficient ranged from 0.71 to 0.96. The correlation coefficient was higher for MyHC type I and MyHC type IIX than for MyHC type IIA. The MyHC contents of single fibers taken from the posterior belly indicated that many fibers in this belly co-express MyHC-IIA and MyHC-IIX. Despite the presence of these hybrid fibers, the correspondence between both methods was relatively large.


1996 ◽  
Vol 271 (2) ◽  
pp. C676-C683 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Widrick ◽  
S. W. Trappe ◽  
D. L. Costill ◽  
R. H. Fitts

Gastrocnemius muscle fiber bundles were obtained by needle biopsy from five middle-aged sedentary men (SED group) and six age-matched endurance-trained master runners (RUN group). A single chemically permeabilized fiber segment was mounted between a force transducer and a position motor, subjected to a series of isotonic contractions at maximal Ca2+ activation (15 degrees C), and subsequently run on a 5% polyacrylamide gel to determine myosin heavy chain composition. The Hill equation was fit to the data obtained for each individual fiber (r2 > or = 0.98). For the SED group, fiber force-velocity parameters varied (P < 0.05) with fiber myosin heavy chain expression as follows: peak force, no differences: peak tension (force/fiber cross-sectional area), type IIx > type IIa > type I; maximal shortening velocity (Vmax, defined as y-intercept of force-velocity relationship), type IIx = type IIa > type I; a/Pzero (where a is a constant with dimensions of force and Pzero is peak isometric force), type IIx > type IIa > type I. Consequently, type IIx fibers produced twice as much peak power as type IIa fibers, whereas type IIa fibers produced about five times more peak power than type I fibers. RUN type I and IIa fibers were smaller in diameter and produced less peak force than SED type I and IIa fibers. The absolute peak power output of RUN type I and IIa fibers was 13 and 27% less, respectively, than peak power of similarly typed SED fibers. However, type I and IIa Vmax and a/Pzero were not different between the SED and RUN groups, and RUN type I and IIa power deficits disappeared after power was normalized for differences in fiber diameter. Thus the reduced absolute peak power output of the type I and IIa fibers from the master runners was a result of the smaller diameter of these fibers and a corresponding reduction in their peak isometric force production. This impairment in absolute peak power production at the single fiber level may be in part responsible for the reduced in vivo power output previously observed for endurance-trained athletes.


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.


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