Overlapping functions of the myogenic bHLH genes MRF4 and MyoD revealed in double mutant mice

Development ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 125 (13) ◽  
pp. 2349-2358 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Rawls ◽  
M.R. Valdez ◽  
W. Zhang ◽  
J. Richardson ◽  
W.H. Klein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Double Mutant ◽  
Muscle Development ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Mutant Mice ◽  
Myoblast Differentiation ◽  
Bhlh Genes ◽  
Bhlh Factors

The myogenic basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) genes - MyoD, Myf5, myogenin and MRF4 - exhibit distinct, but overlapping expression patterns during development of the skeletal muscle lineage and loss-of-function mutations in these genes result in different effects on muscle development. MyoD and Myf5 have been shown to act early in the myogenic lineage to establish myoblast identity, whereas myogenin acts later to control myoblast differentiation. In mice lacking myogenin, there is a severe deficiency of skeletal muscle, but some residual muscle fibers are present in mutant mice at birth. Mice lacking MRF4 are viable and have skeletal muscle, but they upregulate myogenin expression, which could potentially compensate for the absence of MRF4. Previous studies in which Myf5 and MRF4 null mutations were combined suggested that these genes do not share overlapping myogenic functions in vivo. To determine whether the functions of MRF4 might overlap with those of myogenin or MyoD, we generated double mutant mice lacking MRF4 and either myogenin or MyoD. MRF4/myogenin double mutant mice contained a comparable number of residual muscle fibers to mice lacking myogenin alone and myoblasts from those double mutant mice formed differentiated multinucleated myotubes in vitro as efficiently as wild-type myoblasts, indicating that neither myogenin nor MRF4 is absolutely essential for myoblast differentiation. Whereas mice lacking either MRF4 or MyoD were viable and did not show defects in muscle development, MRF4/MyoD double mutants displayed a severe muscle deficiency similar to that in myogenin mutants. Myogenin was expressed in MRF4/MyoD double mutants, indicating that myogenin is insufficient to support normal myogenesis in vivo. These results reveal unanticipated compensatory roles for MRF4 and MyoD in the muscle differentiation pathway and suggest that a threshold level of myogenic bHLH factors is required to activate muscle structural genes, with this level normally being achieved by combinations of multiple myogenic bHLH factors.

scholarly journals Accelerated Response of the myogenin Gene to Denervation in Mutant Mice Lacking Phosphorylation of Myogenin at Threonine 87

2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 1983-1989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris S. Blagden ◽  
Larry Fromm ◽  
Steven J. Burden
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Electrical Activity ◽  
Muscle Development ◽  
Mutant Mice ◽  
Threonine Residue ◽  
E Boxes ◽  
Bhlh Proteins

ABSTRACT Gene expression in skeletal muscle is regulated by a family of myogenic basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins. The binding of these bHLH proteins, notably MyoD and myogenin, to E-boxes in their own regulatory regions is blocked by protein kinase C (PKC)-mediated phosphorylation of a single threonine residue in their basic region. Because electrical stimulation increases PKC activity in skeletal muscle, these data have led to an attractive model suggesting that electrical activity suppresses gene expression by stimulating phosphorylation of this critical threonine residue in myogenic bHLH proteins. We show that electrical activity stimulates phosphorylation of myogenin at threonine 87 (T87) in vivo and that calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII), as well as PKC, catalyzes this reaction in vitro. We find that phosphorylation of myogenin at T87 is dispensable for skeletal muscle development. We show, however, that the decrease in myogenin (myg) expression following innervation is delayed and that the increase in expression following denervation is accelerated in mutant mice lacking phosphorylation of myogenin at T87. These data indicate that two distinct innervation-dependent mechanisms restrain myogenin activity: an inactivation mechanism mediated by phosphorylation of myogenin at T87, and a second, novel regulatory mechanism that regulates myg gene activity independently of T87 phosphorylation.

scholarly journals Creating Interactions between Tissue-Engineered Skeletal Muscle and the Peripheral Nervous System

2016 ◽  
Vol 202 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 143-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alec S.T. Smith ◽  
Samantha L. Passey ◽  
Neil R.W. Martin ◽  
Darren J. Player ◽  
Vivek Mudera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Muscle Development ◽  
Functional Performance ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Synaptic Proteins ◽  
Myoblast Differentiation

Effective models of mammalian tissues must allow and encourage physiologically (mimetic) correct interactions between co-cultured cell types in order to produce culture microenvironments as similar as possible to those that would normally occur in vivo. In the case of skeletal muscle, the development of such a culture model, integrating multiple relevant cell types within a biomimetic scaffold, would be of significant benefit for investigations into the development, functional performance, and pathophysiology of skeletal muscle tissue. Although some work has been published regarding the behaviour of in vitro muscle models co-cultured with organotypic slices of CNS tissue or with stem cell-derived neurospheres, little investigation has so far been made regarding the potential to maintain isolated motor neurons within a 3D biomimetic skeletal muscle culture platform. Here, we review the current state of the art for engineering neuromuscular contacts in vitro and provide original data detailing the development of a 3D collagen-based model for the co-culture of primary muscle cells and motor neurons. The devised culture system promotes increased myoblast differentiation, forming arrays of parallel, aligned myotubes on which areas of nerve-muscle contact can be detected by immunostaining for pre- and post-synaptic proteins. Quantitative RT-PCR results indicate that motor neuron presence has a positive effect on myotube maturation, suggesting neural incorporation influences muscle development and maturation in vitro. The importance of this work is discussed in relation to other published neuromuscular co-culture platforms along with possible future directions for the field.

scholarly journals Circular RNA profiling of buffalo myoblasts reveals an abundant circPICALM that promotes myoblast differentiation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingming Song ◽  
Mengjie Chen ◽  
Kongwei Huang ◽  
Dandan Zhong ◽  
Yaling Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Muscle Regeneration ◽  
Muscle Development ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
Muscle Growth ◽  
Circular Rna ◽  
Skeletal Muscle Regeneration ◽  
Myoblast Differentiation ◽  
Circular Rnas

Abstract Background Muscle development is a precisely orchestrated and complex process, and circular RNAs (circRNAs) has been demonstrated to play important roles in skeletal muscle growth and development. However, the regulatory functions of circRNA during buffalo muscle developmental processes have not been understood.Results In this study, Ribo-Zero RNA-Seq was performed to investigate the circRNAs expression profiles of proliferated and differentiated buffalo myoblasts. A stringent set of 3,142 circRNAs was finally characterized. Comparing the expression profiles of circRNAs revealed that 110 circRNAs were expressed differentially during myoblast differentiation. We focused on the role of a candidate circRNA, which was named circPICALM based on its host gene PICALM, and was highly (but differentially) expressed in proliferated and differentiated myoblasts. Flow cytometry, EdU incorporation, and Western blotting assays demonstrate that circPICALM promoted myoblasts proliferation and inhibited cells apoptosis. Moreover, overexpression of circPICALM promoted the differentiation of primary buffalo myoblasts. Moreover, circPICALM in vivo stimulated skeletal muscle regeneration in cardiotoxin-induced muscle injury. The RNA pulldown results showed that circPICALM could capture TUBA1B protein, revealing that circPICALM might exert its biological function by binding TUBA1B protein. Conclusions These results demonstrate that the novel non-coding regulator circPICALM induces myoblast differentiation and skeletal muscle regeneration.

scholarly journals Mammalian target of rapamycin regulates miRNA-1 and follistatin in skeletal myogenesis

2010 ◽  
Vol 189 (7) ◽  
pp. 1157-1169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuting Sun ◽  
Yejing Ge ◽  
Jenny Drnevich ◽  
Yong Zhao ◽  
Mark Band ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Muscle Development ◽  
Mammalian Target Of Rapamycin ◽  
Micro Rna ◽  
Skeletal Muscle Regeneration ◽  
Target Of Rapamycin ◽  
Myoblast Differentiation ◽  
Mirna Biogenesis

Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) has emerged as a key regulator of skeletal muscle development by governing distinct stages of myogenesis, but the molecular pathways downstream of mTOR are not fully understood. In this study, we report that expression of the muscle-specific micro-RNA (miRNA) miR-1 is regulated by mTOR both in differentiating myoblasts and in mouse regenerating skeletal muscle. We have found that mTOR controls MyoD-dependent transcription of miR-1 through its upstream enhancer, most likely by regulating MyoD protein stability. Moreover, a functional pathway downstream of mTOR and miR-1 is delineated, in which miR-1 suppression of histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4) results in production of follistatin and subsequent myocyte fusion. Collective evidence strongly suggests that follistatin is the long-sought mTOR-regulated fusion factor. In summary, our findings unravel for the first time a link between mTOR and miRNA biogenesis and identify an mTOR–miR-1–HDAC4–follistatin pathway that regulates myocyte fusion during myoblast differentiation in vitro and skeletal muscle regeneration in vivo.

scholarly journals NLK is required for Ras/ERK/SRF/ELK signaling to tune skeletal muscle development by phosphorylating SRF and antagonizing the SRF/MKL pathway

2022 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shang-Ze Li ◽  
Ze-Yan Zhang ◽  
Jie Chen ◽  
Ming-You Dong ◽  
Xue-Hua Du ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Muscle Development ◽  
Serum Response Factor ◽  
Conditional Knockout ◽  
Myoblast Differentiation ◽  
Knockout Mouse Model ◽  
Hypertrophic Growth

AbstractSerum response factor (SRF) regulates differentiation and proliferation by binding to RhoA-actin-activated MKL or Ras-MAPK-activated ELK transcriptional coactivators, but the molecular mechanisms responsible for SRF regulation remain unclear. Here, we show that Nemo-like kinase (NLK) is required for the promotion of SRF/ELK signaling in human and mouse cells. NLK was found to interact with and phosphorylate SRF at serine residues 101/103, which in turn enhanced the association between SRF and ELK. The enhanced affinity of SRF/ELK antagonized the SRF/MKL pathway and inhibited mouse myoblast differentiation in vitro. In a skeletal muscle-specific Nlk conditional knockout mouse model, forming muscle myofibers underwent hypertrophic growth, resulting in an increased muscle and body mass phenotype. We propose that both phosphorylation of SRF by NLK and phosphorylation of ELKs by MAPK are required for RAS/ELK signaling, confirming the importance of this ancient pathway and identifying an important role for NLK in modulating muscle development in vivo.

scholarly journals Long Noncoding RNA Lnc-SEMT Modulates IGF2 Expression by Sponging miR-125b to Promote Sheep Muscle Development and Growth

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 447-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caihong Wei ◽  
Mingming Wu ◽  
Chuduan Wang ◽  
Ruizao Liu ◽  
Huijing Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Noncoding Rna ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Muscle Development ◽  
Growth Traits ◽  
Noncoding Rnas ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Myoblast Differentiation

Background/Aims: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are RNA transcripts that are more than 200 nt long but have little protein-coding potential. Within the last few years, thousands of lncRNAs have been identified and their functions in biological processes have begun to be understood. Although many studies havebegun to examine the functions of many noncoding RNAs, very little is known about the functions of long noncoding (lncRNA) function of livestock production and molecular mechanisms of their functions are still lackingrelated to livestock production. Methods: Expression of sheep enhanced muscularityTranscript lncRNA (lnc-SEMT) and miR-125b were examined in sheep using quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Expression of Myod (myogenic determination factor), Myog (myoglobin) and Insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2)were examined by Western Blot.Luciferase reporter assays were performedto confirm the relationship between lnc-SEMT and miR-125b. Results: Here, we identified a novel lnc-SEMT that promote sheep myoblast differentiation in vitro and enhanced sheep muscularity in vivo. Functional analyses showed that lnc-SEMT accelerates sheep myoblast differentiation in vitro. lnc-SEMT transgenic sheep exhibit a muscle hypertrophy phenotype characterized by increased body weight, and increased the number of muscle fibers indicating that lnc-SEMT play an important role in the regulation of skeletal muscle differentiation in vivo. Our results show that lnc-SEMT acts as a molecular sponge by antagonizing miR-125b to control IGF2 protein labundance in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion: In brief, lnc-SEMT is the first example of a lncRNA could be a useful candidate for improving biological growth traits such as skeletal muscle production in sheep.

Formation of highly organized skeletal muscle fibers in vitro. Comparison with muscle development in vivo

1992 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 643-652 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Swasdison ◽  
R. Mayne
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Extracellular Matrix ◽  
Muscle Fiber ◽  
Muscle Development ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Myotendinous Junction ◽  
Type Iv

Two methods were developed in which long-term cultures of quail skeletal muscle were established so that all of the muscle fibers develop in a highly oriented manner. The muscle fibers became spontaneously and vigorously contractile and established strong connections with the extracellular matrix at their ends that closely duplicate the structure of the myotendinous junction. A continuous basal lamina was formed around each muscle fiber that contained type IV collagen, laminin and heparan sulfate proteoglycan. With one of the methods, an extensive extracellular matrix developed around each muscle fiber that was highly organized with the formation of a distinctive epimysium, perimysium and endomysium. Analysis of the cultures by both methods for different isoforms of myosin showed expression of an adult form of myosin by some of the muscle cells. The results therefore demonstrate that muscle development in the present culture systems proceeds extensively for several weeks. It will now be possible to investigate directly the structure of the connections between muscle fibers and the extracellular matrix.

scholarly journals Transcriptome Analysis of Differentially Expressed mRNA Related to Pigeon Muscle Development

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2311
Author(s):  
Hao Ding ◽  
Yueyue Lin ◽  
Tao Zhang ◽  
Lan Chen ◽  
Genxi Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Differentially Expressed Genes ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Muscle Development ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Differentially Expressed ◽  
Pathway Enrichment Analysis ◽  
Growth Stages ◽  
Gene Expression And Regulation

The mechanisms behind the gene expression and regulation that modulate the development and growth of pigeon skeletal muscle remain largely unknown. In this study, we performed gene expression analysis on skeletal muscle samples at different developmental and growth stages using RNA sequencing (RNA−Seq). The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using edgeR software. Weighted gene co−expression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to identify the gene modules related to the growth and development of pigeon skeletal muscle based on DEGs. A total of 11,311 DEGs were identified. WGCNA aggregated 11,311 DEGs into 12 modules. Black and brown modules were significantly correlated with the 1st and 10th day of skeletal muscle growth, while turquoise and cyan modules were significantly correlated with the 8th and 13th days of skeletal muscle embryonic development. Four mRNA−mRNA regulatory networks corresponding to the four significant modules were constructed and visualised using Cytoscape software. Twenty candidate mRNAs were identified based on their connectivity degrees in the networks, including Abca8b, TCONS−00004461, VWF, OGDH, TGIF1, DKK3, Gfpt1 and RFC5, etc. A KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that many pathways were related to the growth and development of pigeon skeletal muscle, including PI3K/AKT/mTOR, AMPK, FAK, and thyroid hormone pathways. Five differentially expressed genes (LAST2, MYPN, DKK3, B4GALT6 and OGDH) in the network were selected, and their expression patterns were quantified by qRT−PCR. The results were consistent with our sequencing results. These findings could enhance our understanding of the gene expression and regulation in the development and growth of pigeon muscle.

Rapid and reciprocal regulation of tenascin-C and tenascin-Y expression by loading of skeletal muscle

2000 ◽  
Vol 113 (20) ◽  
pp. 3583-3591 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Fluck ◽  
V. Tunc-Civelek ◽  
M. Chiquet
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Extracellular Matrix ◽  
Tensile Stress ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Myotendinous Junction ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
C Protein ◽  
Tenascin C ◽  
Mrna Induction

Tenascin-C and tenascin-Y are two structurally related extracellular matrix glycoproteins that in many tissues show a complementary expression pattern. Tenascin-C and the fibril-associated minor collagen XII are expressed in tissues bearing high tensile stress and are located in normal skeletal muscle, predominantly at the myotendinous junction that links muscle fibers to tendon. In contrast, tenascin-Y is strongly expressed in the endomysium surrounding single myofibers, and in the perimysial sheath around fiber bundles. We previously showed that tenascin-C and collagen XII expression in primary fibroblasts is regulated by changes in tensile stress. Here we have tested the hypothesis that the expression of tenascin-C, tenascin-Y and collagen XII in skeletal muscle connective tissue is differentially modulated by mechanical stress in vivo. Chicken anterior latissimus dorsi muscle (ALD) was mechanically stressed by applying a load to the left wing. Within 36 hours of loading, expression of tenascin-C protein was ectopically induced in the endomysium along the surface of single muscle fibers throughout the ALD, whereas tenascin-Y protein expression was barely affected. Expression of tenascin-C protein stayed elevated after 7 days of loading whereas tenascin-Y protein was reduced. Northern blot analysis revealed that tenascin-C mRNA was induced in ALD within 4 hours of loading while tenascin-Y mRNA was reduced within the same period. In situ hybridization indicated that tenascin-C mRNA induction after 4 hours of loading was uniform throughout the ALD muscle in endomysial fibroblasts. In contrast, the level of tenascin-Y mRNA expression in endomysium appeared reduced within 4 hours of loading. Tenascin-C mRNA and protein induction after 4–10 hours of loading did not correlate with signs of macrophage infiltration. Tenascin-C protein decreased again with removal of the load and nearly disappeared after 5 days. Furthermore, loading was also found to induce expression of collagen XII mRNA and protein, but to a markedly lower level, with slower kinetics and only partial reversibility. The results suggest that mechanical loading directly and reciprocally controls the expression of extracellular matrix proteins of the tenascin family in skeletal muscle.

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