Myomaker, Regulated by MYOD, MYOG andmiR-140-3p, Promotes Chicken Myoblast Fusion

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Wen Luo¹  Xiquan Zhang¹  Erxin Li¹  Qinghua Nie¹ 

[1] Department of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China;

关键词: chicken;    Myomaker;    myoblast fusion;    MYOD;    MYOG;    miR-140-3p;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms161125946

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The fusion of myoblasts is an important step during skeletal muscle differentiation. A recent study in mice found that a transmembrane protein called Myomaker, which is specifically expressed in muscle, is critical for myoblast fusion. However, the cellular mechanism of its roles and the regulatory mechanism of its expression remain unclear. Chicken not only plays an important role in meat production but is also an ideal model organism for muscle development research. Here, we report that Myomaker is also essential for chicken myoblast fusion. Forced expression of Myomaker in chicken primary myoblasts promotes myoblast fusion, whereas knockdown of Myomaker by siRNA inhibits myoblast fusion. MYOD and MYOG, which belong to the family of myogenic regulatory factors, can bind to a conserved E-box located proximal to the Myomaker transcription start site and induce Myomaker transcription. Additionally, miR-140-3p can inhibit Myomaker expression and myoblast fusion, at least in part, by binding to the 3ʹ UTR of Myomaker in vitro. These findings confirm the essential roles of Myomaker in avian myoblast fusion and show that MYOD, MYOG and miR-140-3p can regulate Myomaker expression.

【 授权许可】

Unknown