Microinjection of calpastatin inhibits fusion in myoblasts

Rat satellite cells (RSC) were microinjected with purified calpastatin or m-calpain, and myoblasts from a C2C12 mouse line were microinjected with purified calpastatin. Microinjection with calpastatin completely prevented fusion of myoblasts from both sources, whereas microinjection with m-calpain significantly increased the rate of fusion of cultured RSC; 44% of the nuclei of RSC cultures were in multinucleated myotubes within 48 h after microinjection with m-calpain plus labeled dextran, whereas only 15% of the nuclei were in multinucleated myotubes after microinjection with dextran alone. Western analyses indicated that neither RSC nor C2C12 myoblasts contained detectable amounts of mu-calpain before fusion. The levels of calpastatin in C2C12 myoblasts increased as cells passed from the proliferative stage to the onset of fusion, and these levels increased substantially in both the C2C12 and the RSC cells as they progressed to the late or postfusion stage. Both RSC and C2C12 myoblasts contained an 80-kDa polypeptide that was labeled with an anti-m-calpain antibody in Western blots. The results are consistent with a role of the calpain system (m-calpain in these myoblast lines) in remodeling of the cytoskeletal/plasma membrane interactions during cell fusion.     

Structure of mouse calpastatin isoforms: implications of species-common and species-specific alternative splicing.

Mouse calpastatin cDNAs were cloned by the method of RT-PCR using RNA isolated from myoblast C2C12 cells. Nucleotide sequencing of the isolated clones revealed an in-frame ATG codon upstream of the previously assigned translation initiation methionine. Except for the N-terminal segment, the new translatable region (domain XL) was similar to the sequence of bovine calpastatin in which domain XL was first identified. Among the isolated mouse calpastatin cDNA clones, three isoforms (mCS-a, mCS-b, and mCS-c) were identified. In domain L, mCS-b had a deletion of the region corresponding to exon 3 of the human calpastatin gene. RT-PCR analyses of various mouse tissues revealed that mCS-b was the major form and that the content of mCS-a, nondeleted form, was 5-10% in tissues including skeletal muscle, liver, brain, etc. and about 30% in the myoblast C2C12 cells. Unlike human and rat cDNAs, no other deletions were detected in mouse calpastatin domain L. Isolation of the cDNA clone of mCS-c, which lacked regions corresponding to exons 3 and 12, was obtained by chance because its expression level was under the detectable level in the mouse tissues and even in C2C12 cells.     

人Sema4C重组腺病毒载体的构建及其在小鼠成肌细胞系C2C12中的表达

利用Ad5腺病毒载体系统构建人Sema4C基因重组腺病毒表达载体并在成肌细胞系C2C12中表达,并初步探讨Sema4C基因在成肌发育过程中的可能作用。利用脂质体介导重组腺病毒载体转染HEK293细胞,包装出完整的腺病毒;将重组腺病毒载体感染C2C12成肌细胞后,利用激光共聚焦显微镜观察发现12h即有绿色荧光表达,24h后绿色荧光蛋白表达最强;流式细胞仪检测病毒的感染效率几乎达100%。WB检测结果表明感染重组腺病毒载体组C2C12细胞Sema4C蛋白的表达量明显高于空载体对照组（P<0.01）。为了进一步观察Sema4C基因对C2C12细胞增殖分化的影响,流式细胞仪检测了病毒感染48h后C2C12细胞的增殖指数,并对感染后诱导分化的C2C12细胞的分化情况进行了观察。我们的结果首次表明,过表达外源性人Sema4C基因不仅能使C2C12细胞的G0/G1期比例增加,细胞的增殖指数下降,同时在分化培养条件下还能促进C2C12细胞肌管的形成。     

过表达Runx2促进C2C12细胞成骨分化

利用Tet-on(Tetracycline-on)基因表达系统,通过强力霉素(doxycycline,DOX)诱导Runx2基因在C2C12细胞中的表达,探究Runx2促成骨分化功能,为其分子机制的研究提供一个理想的实验平台.先后将调控质粒pTet-on和反应质粒pTRE-Flag-Runx2转染入C2C12细胞,并用G418和潮霉素分别进行2轮筛选,运用实时荧光定量PCR选择对强力霉素诱导敏感的细胞克隆.用不同浓度DOX诱导C2C12/Tet/pTRE-Flag-Runx2细胞,蛋白免疫印迹检测Runx2的表达,确定DOX的最佳诱导浓度与时间,并检测C2C12细胞的成骨分化能力.结果表明,诱导细胞最佳DOX浓度为10μg/ml;最佳诱导时间为12h;诱导后Runx2基因高表达,C2C12细胞向成骨方向分化(P0.05).成功建立Tet调控Runx2基因表达C2C12细胞系,为进一步研究Runx2基因功能分子机制提供理想的细胞模型.     

PUGNAc induces protein ubiquitination in C2C12 myotube cells

O‐linked β‐N‐acetylglucosaminylation (O‐GlcNAcylation) regulates many cellular processes including the cell cycle, cell signaling, and protein trafficking. Dysregulation of O‐GlcNAcylation may be involved in the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Therefore, it is necessary to identify cellular proteins that are induced by elevated O‐GlcNAcylation. Here, using adenosine 5′‐triphosphate affinity chromatography, we employed a proteomic approach in order to identify differentially expressed proteins in response to treatment with the O‐GlcNAcase inhibitor, O‐(2‐acetamido‐2‐deoxy‐d ‐glucopyranosylidene)amino‐N‐phenylcarbamate (PUGNAc), in mouse C2C12 myotube cells. Among 205 selected genes, we identified 68 nucleotide‐binding proteins, 14 proteins that have adenosinetriphosphatase activity, and 10 proteins with ligase activity. Upregulation of proteins, including ubiquitin‐activating enzyme E1, proteasome subunit 20S, cullin‐associated NEDD8‐dissociated protein 1, ezrin, and downregulation of the protein nucleoside diphosphate kinase B, were confirmed by western blot analysis. In particular, we found that the protein ubiquitination level in C2C12 cells was increased by PUGNAc treatment. This is the first report of quantitative proteomic profiles of myotube cells after treatment with PUGNAc, and our results demonstrate the potential to enhance understanding of the relationship between insulin resistance, O‐GlcNAc, and PUGNAc in the future. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

中胚叶叉头-1在骨成形蛋白-2诱导肌胚细胞C2C12转化成骨细胞过程中的作用

为了研究中胚叶叉头-1(MFH-1)基因在骨骼形成和细胞分化中的作用,利用基因重组、杂交瘤技术制作MFH-1单克隆抗体, 利用蛋白质印迹和RNA印迹分析观察了骨成形蛋白-2 (BMP-2)诱导小鼠肌胚细胞C2C12表达MFH-1、产生碱性磷酸酶和骨钙蛋白.小鼠肌胚细胞C2C12低水平地表达内源性MFH-1蛋白以及导入小鼠MFH-1 cDNA的人膀胱癌细胞HTB9也表达小鼠MFH-1蛋白,这种蛋白质定位于细胞核中.用BMP-2处理后, MFH-1蛋白和mRNA在C2C12细胞中的表达显著地增加.用反义MFH-1序列转染小鼠肌胚细胞C2C12可降低内源性MFH-1水平, BMP-2不能诱导导入反义MFH-1序列的肌胚细胞C2C12产生MFH-1蛋白,也不能诱导碱性磷酸酶(ALP)活性和骨钙蛋白量的增加.结果表明, BMP-2诱导的MFH-1蛋白在调节肌胚细胞C2C12向成骨细胞分化方面起关键作用.     

Epinephrine upregulates calpain activity in cultured C2C12 muscle cells

C2C12 cells were grown to confluence at 37 degrees C under a continuous 5% CO(2) stream and myotube formation was stimulated. The cultures were then incubated with or without 2 microg/mL epinephrine for 18 h prior to harvesting and calpain extraction. Epinephrine treatment resulted in a three-fold increase in extractable mu-calpain activity (P < 0.05), a three-fold increase in extractable m-calpain activity (P < 0.05), a 36% increase in calpastatin activity (P < 0.001), and a 16% decrease (P < 0.05) in the total protein content in the C2C12 cell homogenate. These results suggest that calpains may play a role in protein metabolism and that the hormone epinephrine may be directly involved in the regulation of their cellular expression.     

Efficient transfection of mouse-derived C2C12 myoblasts using a matrigel basement membrane matrix

Myogenic cell lines have been used widely in the study of myogenic differentiation, muscle regeneration and homeostasis, but, myoblasts and myotubes are difficult to transfect using conventional techniques. We have used liposome-based transfection method to introduce a green fluorescence protein (GFP)-expressing plasmid into Matrigel basement membrane matrix-coated C2C12 mouse myoblast cells. Myoblasts adhered and proliferated more rapidly on a Matrigel; thus, a dramatic increase in transfection efficiency can be obtained compared to Matrigel-untreated cells. Transfection efficiency was determined by counting fluorescent and total cells from six random fields for each condition. This protocol results in efficient (up to 60–70%) transfection of C2C12 myoblasts, high levels of GFP expression and low rate of cell death (10%). This technique is rapid, reliable, uses a lipid-based transfection reagent, and yields high transfection rates in a previously hard-to-transfect cell type.     

Characterization of the calcium-dependent proteolytic system in a mouse muscle cell line

Many studies have demonstrated that the calcium-dependent proteolytic system (calpains and calpastatin) is involved in myoblast differentiation. It is also known that myogenic differentiation can be studied in vitro. In the present experiments, using a mouse muscle cell line (C₂C₁₂) we have analyzed both the sequences of appearance and the expression profiles of calpains 1, 2, 3 and calpastatin during the course of myoblast differentiation. Our results mainly show that the expression of ubiquitous calpains (calpain 1 and 2) and muscle-specific calpain (calpain 3) at the mRNAs level as well as at the protein level do not change significantly all along this biological process. In the same time, the specific inhibitor of ubiquitous calpains, calpastatin, presents a stable expression at mRNAs level as well as protein level, all along myoblast to myotube transition. A comparison with other myogenic cells is presented.     

Overexpression of amyloid beta precursor protein enhances expression and secretion of ST6Gal1 in C2C12 myogenic cell line

The Abeta (amyloid‐beta) peptide is derived from the sequential cleavage of AbetaPP (amyloid‐beta precursor protein) by two enzymes, the β‐ and γ‐secretases. The major β‐secretase, identified as the novel transmembrane aspartic protease BACE1 (beta site APP‐cleaving enzyme 1), mediates the primary amyloidogenic cleavage of AbetaPP and initiates the production of Abeta. It has been implicated in the proteolytic processing of another substrate, namely ST6Gal1 (β galactoside α2,6‐sialyltransferase 1), which is the major α2,6‐sialyltransferase responsible for the broad synthesis of glycoproteins and glycolipids. The present study investigated the effect of overexpression of AbetaPP on expression and secretion of ST6Gal1 in skeletal muscle cells by inducing overexpression of wild‐type full‐length 751‐AbetaPP in the mouse myogenic cell line C2C12. Expression and secretion of the ST6Gal1 enzyme were analysed by Western blot and/or immunofluorescence staining. The results of our study demonstrated that AbetaPP overexpression in C2C12 cells increased the expression and the secretion of ST6Gal1 enzyme in vitro.     

Bortezomib inhibits C2C12 growth by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis

Proteosome inhibitors such as bortezomib (BTZ) have been used to treat muscle wasting in animal models. However, direct effect of BTZ on skeletal muscle cells has not been reported. In the present study, our data showed that C2C12 cells exhibited a dose-dependent decrease in cell viability in response to increasing concentrations of BTZ. Consistent with the results of cell viability, Annexin V/PI analysis showed a significant increase in apoptosis after exposing the cells to BTZ for 24 h. The detection of cleaved caspase-3 further confirmed apoptosis. The apoptosis induced by BTZ was associated with reduced expression of p-ERK. Cell cycle analysis revealed that C2C12 cells underwent G2/M cell cycle arrest when incubated with BTZ for 24 h. Furthermore, BTZ inhibited formation of multinucleated myotubes. The inhibition of myotube formation was accompanied by decreased expression of Myogenin. Our data suggest that BTZ induces cell death and inhibits differentiation of C2C12 cells at clinically relevant doses.     

Mechanical stretch activates glycometabolism-related enzymes via estrogen in C2C12 myoblasts

Moderate exercise improves glycometabolic disorder and type 2 diabetes mellitus in menopausal females. So far, the effect of exercise-induced estrogen on muscular glycometabolism is not well defined. The current study was designed to explore the effect of mechanical stretch-induced estrogen on glycometabolism in mouse C₂C₁₂ myoblasts. The mouse C₂C₁₂ myoblasts in vitro were assigned randomly to the control (C), stretch (S), and stretch plus aromatase inhibitor anastrozole (SA) groups. Cells in the S group were stretched by the Flexcell FX-5000™ system (15% magnitude, 1 Hz frequency, and 6-hr duration) whereas those in the SA group were treated with 400 μg/ml anastrozole before the same stretching. Glucose uptake, estradiol levels, PFK-1 levels, and oxygen consumption rate were determined, and the expression of HK, PI3K, p-AKT, AKT, and GLUT4 proteins were semiquantified with western blot analysis. Compared to the control, the estradiol level, oxygen consumption rate, expression of HK, PI3K, and PFK-1 proteins, the ratio of p-AKT to AKT, and the ratio of GLUT4 in the cell membrane to that in the whole cell were higher in the S group. On the other hand, the estradiol level, glucose uptake, expression of PFK-1 and GLUT4 proteins, oxygen consumption rate, expression of HK protein, and the ratio of p-AKT/AKT were lower in the myoblasts in the SA group than those in the S group. The level of estradiol was positively correlated with glucose uptake (p < .01, r = .818). Therefore, mechanical stretch-induced estrogen increased the expression of glycometabolism-related enzymes and proteins in the mouse C₂C₁₂ myoblasts.     

Differential Expression of MARCKS and Other Calmodulin-Binding Protein Kinase C Substrates in Cultured Neuroblastoma and Glioma Cells

Abstract: Expression of the protein kinase C substrate MARCKS and other heat-stable myristoylated proteins have been studied in four cultured neural cell lines. Amounts of MARCKS protein, measured by [³H]myristate labeling and western blotting, were severalfold higher in rat C6 glioma and human HTB-11 (SK-N-SH) neuroblastoma cells than in HTB-10 (SK-N-MC) or mouse N1E-115 neuroblastoma cells. Higher levels of MARCKS mRNA were also detected in the former cell lines by S1 nuclease protection assay. At least two additional ³H-myristoylated proteins of 50 and 40–45 kDa were observed in cell extracts heated to >80°C or treated with perchloric acid. The 50-kDa protein, which bound to calmodulin in the presence of Ca²⁺, was more prominent in cells (N1E-115 and HTB-10) with less MARCKS, whereas neuromodulin (GAP-43) was detected in N1E-115 and HTB-11 cells only. Heating resulted in a fourfold increase in the detection of MARCKS by western blotting; this was not paralleled by a similar increase in [³H]myristate-labeled MARCKS and may be due to a conformational change affecting the C-terminal epitope or enhanced retention of the protein on nitrocellulose. Addition of β-12- O -tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate resulted in three- to fourfold increased phosphorylation of MARCKS in HTB-11 cells, with little increase noted in HTB-10 cells. These results indicate that MARCKS, neuromodulin, and other calmodulin-binding protein kinase C substrates exhibit distinct levels of expression in cultured neurotumor cell lines. Of these proteins, only MARCKS appears to be correlated with phorbol ester stimulation of phosphatidylcholine turnover in these cells.     

DN-AMPK腺病毒载体的构建及其在小鼠成肌细胞系C2C12肌管分化中的影响

在研究AMPK的调控网络时,通常利用过表达显性失活突变型AMPK(dominant negative AMPK,DN-AMPK)作为研究手段来验证AMPK在某些重要生理病理调节通路中的关键作用。旨在利用Ad5腺病毒载体体系构建Ad-DN-AMPK表达载体,并在成肌细胞系C2C12中检测无活性AMPK高表达后对C2C12细胞分化为肌管细胞的影响。通过构建AMPKα1(D159A)和AMPKα2(K45R)的腺病毒表达载体,在HEK293细胞中成功包装并扩增出完整的腺病毒,待其感染能力基本稳定后,将腺病毒感染C2C12,利用激光定量成像仪检测其感染滴度,感染效率能高达100%,并且能够持续表达6 d。DN-AMPK高表达后,AMPK常用激活剂A769662(SN-5)不能激活AMPK,表现为AMPK下游蛋白活性丧失,如ACC磷酸化无变化。通过实时定量PCR的方法,检测DN-AMPK对C2C12分化为肌管细胞的影响,结果表明过表达DN-AMPK能够促进C2C12细胞分化为肌管细胞的标记蛋白(Myod和Myogenin)的表达,即促进C2C12分化为肌管细胞。     

Modification of CD43 and other lymphocyte O-glycoproteins by core 2 N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase

CD43, the major leukocyte sialoglycoprotein, is expressed onT lymphocytes in two predominant glycoforms. CD43 115 kDa isa pan T cell marker and is specifically recognized by the monoclonalantibody S7. CD43 130 kDa is associated with T cell activationand is specifically recognized by the monoclonal antibody 1B11.The thymoma EL-4 has been identified to express mainly CD43115 kDa and little or no CD43 130 kDa. Transfection of EL-4cells with core 2 ß16N-acetylgIucosaminyltransferase(C2GnT), an enzyme in the O-glycan biosynthesis pathway, resultedin an enhanced expression of the 1B11 epitope, CD43 130 kDa,and a loss of expression of the S7 epitope, CD43 115 kDa. Analysisof CD43 by SDS-PAGE revealed that CD43 in C2GnT transfectedEL-4 cells has a molecular weight of 125 kDa compared to 115kDa in nontransfected or control transfected EL-4 cells. SDS-PAGEanalysis of three other lymphocyte O-glycoproteins, CD44, CD45,and RPTPa., revealed that C2GnT expression resulted in a molecularweight increase of approximately 3–5 kDa for each of thesethree cell surface glycoproteins. Our data indicate that, whileCD43 may be a predominant substrate for C2GnT, other lymphocyteO-glycoproteins are also modified by this glycosyltransferase.Increased reactivity of cells with the monoclonal antibody 1B11,which specifically detects the expression of murine CD43 130kDa, may thus be a marker of increases in branching of O-linkedglycans generally. CD43 core 2 N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase lymphocyte glycoproteins     

Actin-associated protein palladin is required for migration behavior and differentiation potential of C2C12 myoblast cells

The actin-associated protein palladin has been shown to be involved in differentiation processes in non-muscle tissues. However, but its function in skeletal muscle has rarely been studied. Palladin plays important roles in the regulation of diverse actin-related signaling in a number of cell types. Since intact actin-cytoskeletal remodeling is necessary for myogenesis, in the present study, we pursue to investigate the role of actin-associated palladin in skeletal muscle differentiation. Palladin in C2C12 myoblasts is knocked-down using specific small interfering RNA (siRNA). The results show that down-regulation of palladin decreased migratory activity of mouse skeletal muscle C2C12 myoblasts. Furthermore, the depletion of palladin enhances C2C12 vitality and proliferation. Of note, the loss of palladin promotes C2C12 to express the myosin heavy chain, suggesting that palladin has a role in the modulation of C2C12 differentiation. It is thus proposed that palladin is required for normal C2C12 myogenesis in vitro.     

Myostatin inhibits cell proliferation and protein synthesis in C2C12 muscle cells

Myostatin mutations in mice and cattle are associated with increased muscularity, suggesting that myostatin is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle mass. To test the hypothesis that myostatin inhibits muscle cell growth, we examined the effects of recombinant myostatin in mouse skeletal muscle C2C12 cells. After verification of the expression of cDNA constructs in a cell-free system and in transfected Chinese hamster ovary cells, the human recombinant protein was expressed as the full-length (375-amino acid) myostatin in Drosophila cells (Mst375D), or the 110-amino acid carboxy-terminal protein in Escherichia coli (Mst110EC). These proteins were identified by immunoblotting and were purified. Both Mst375D and Mst110EC dose dependently inhibited cell proliferation (cell count and Formazan assay), DNA synthesis ([3H]thymidine incorporation), and protein synthesis ([1-14C]leucine incorporation) in C2C12 cells. The inhibitory effects of both proteins were greater in myotubes than in myoblasts. Neither protein had any significant effects on protein degradation or apoptosis. In conclusion, recombinant myostatin proteins inhibit cell proliferation, DNA synthesis, and protein synthesis in C2C12 muscle cells, suggesting that myostatin may control muscle mass by inhibiting muscle growth or regeneration.     

Heterogeneity of Nucleotide Receptors in NG108-15 Neuroblastoma and C6 Glioma Cells for Mediating Phosphoinositide Turnover

Abstract: We have compared the characteristics of receptors for nucleotide analogues and the involvement of phospholipase C (PLC) in the effector mechanism in NG108-15 neuroblastoma and C6 glioma cells. The relative potency of these analogues to stimulate inositol phosphate (IP) formation is UTP > UDP ? 2-methylthio-ATP (2-MeSATP), GTP > ATP, CTP > ADP > UMP in NG108-15 cells and ATP > UTP > ADP > GTP > UDP ? 2Me-SATP, CTP, UMP in C6 glioma cells. α,β-Methylene-ATP, β,γ-methylene-ATP, AMP, and adenosine had little or no effect in both types of cells. The EC₅₀ values were 3 and 106 µM for UTP in NG108-15 and C6 glioma cells, respectively. The EC₅₀ value for ATP in C6 glioma cells was 43 µM. 2-MeSATP was threefold more potent than ATP in NG108-15 cells but had little effect in C6 glioma cells at 1 mM. In NCB-20 cells, a similar rank order of potency to that found in NG108-15 cells, i.e., UTP ? GTP > ATP > CTP, was observed. In both NG108-15 and C6 glioma cells, preincubation with ATP or UTP caused a pronounced cross-desensitization of subsequent nucleotide-stimulated IP production. ATP and UTP displayed no additivity in terms of IP formation at maximally effective concentrations. In contrast, endothelin-1, bradykinin, and NaF interacted in an additive manner with either nucleotide in stimulating PI hydrolysis. Pretreatment with pertussis toxin did not affect ATP-, UTP-, and GTP-stimulated IP generation in these cells, indicating that nucleotide receptors coupled to PLC by a pertussis toxin-resistant G protein in both cell types. Short-term treatment of the cells with protein kinase C (PKC) activators [phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and octylindolactam V] produced a dose-dependent inhibition of ATP- and UTP-induced IP formation with a greater extent and higher susceptibility in C6 glioma cells than in NG108-15 cells. Furthermore, a 24-h exposure of the cells to PMA resulted in an obvious attenuation of nucleotide-induced IP formation in C6 glioma cells but failed to change the response in NG108-15 cells. These results suggest that distinct nucleotide receptors that respond to ATP and UTP with different selectivity exist in NG108-15 and C6 glioma cells. These heterogeneous nucleotide receptors coupled to PLC undergo discriminative modulation by PKC. NG108-15 and NCB-20 neuroblastoma are two cell lines that showed the highest specificity to extracellular UTP rather than ATP among the nucleotide receptors so far studied in various cells, suggesting the presence of a pyrimidine receptor in these cells.