Myogenin expression, cell cycle withdrawal, and phenotypic differentiation are temporally separable events that precede cell fusion upon myogenesis

During terminal differentiation of skeletal myoblasts, cells fuse to form postmitotic multinucleated myotubes that cannot reinitiate DNA synthesis. Here we investigated the temporal relationships among these events during in vitro differentiation of C2C12 myoblasts. Cells expressing myogenin, a marker for the entry of myoblasts into the differentiation pathway, were detected first during myogenesis, followed by the appearance of mononucleated cells expressing both myogenin and the cell cycle inhibitor p21. Although expression of both proteins was sustained in mitogen-restimulated myocytes, 5- bromodeoxyuridine incorporation experiments in serum-starved cultures revealed that myogenin-positive cells remained capable of replicating DNA. In contrast, subsequent expression of p21 in differentiating myoblasts correlated with the establishment of the postmitotic state. Later during myogenesis, postmitotic (p21-positive) mononucleated myoblasts activated the expression of the muscle structural protein myosin heavy chain, and then fused to form multinucleated myotubes. Thus, despite the asynchrony in the commitment to differentiation, skeletal myogenesis is a highly ordered process of temporally separable events that begins with myogenin expression, followed by p21 induction and cell cycle arrest, then phenotypic differentiation, and finally, cell fusion.     

MURC, a muscle-restricted coiled-coil protein, is involved in the regulation of skeletal myogenesis

Skeletal myogenesis is a multistep process by which multinucleated mature muscle fibers are formed from undifferentiated, mononucleated myoblasts. However, the molecular mechanisms of skeletal myogenesis have not been fully elucidated. Here, we identified muscle-restricted coiled-coil (MURC) protein as a positive regulator of myogenesis. In skeletal muscle, MURC was localized to the cytoplasm with accumulation in the Z-disc of the sarcomere. In C2C12 myoblasts, MURC expression occurred coincidentally with myogenin expression and preceded sarcomeric myosin expression during differentiation into myotubes. RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated knockdown of MURC impaired differentiation in C2C12 myoblasts, which was accompanied by impaired myogenin expression and ERK activation. Overexpression of MURC in C2C12 myoblasts resulted in the promotion of differentiation with enhanced myogenin expression and ERK activation during differentiation. During injury-induced muscle regeneration, MURC expression increased, and a higher abundance of MURC was observed in immature myofibers compared with mature myofibers. In addition, ERK was activated in regenerating tissue, and ERK activation was detected in MURC-expressing immature myofibers. These findings suggest that MURC is involved in the skeletal myogenesis that results from modulation of myogenin expression and ERK activation. MURC may play pivotal roles in the molecular mechanisms of skeletal myogenic differentiation.     

Differential expression of the Na,K-ATPase alpha 1 and alpha 2 subunit genes in a murine myogenic cell line. Induction of the alpha 2 isozyme during myocyte differentiation

Expression of Na,K-ATPase catalytic alpha isoform (alpha 1, alpha 2, and alpha 3) and beta subunit genes in rodent muscle was investigated using the murine C2C12 myogenic cell line. RNA blot analyses of myoblasts revealed expression primarily of the alpha 1 mRNA and low levels of alpha 2 mRNA. Fusion of the proliferating myoblasts to form myotubes was accompanied by an approximate 12-fold induction of the alpha 2 mRNA. In contrast, expression of alpha 1 mRNA remained constant throughout myogenesis. The alpha 3 mRNA was not detected in either myoblasts or myotubes. The beta mRNA abundance also increased 2-3-fold during myotube formation. In rodent tissues, low and high affinity cardiac glycoside (e.g. ouabain) receptors have been shown to be associated with the Na,K-ATPase catalytic alpha 1 and alpha 2 isoform subunits, respectively. The existence of these two functional classes of Na,K-ATPase in myoblasts and myotubes correlated with the biphasic ouabain inhibition of Na,K-ATPase activity. Confluent myoblasts expressed primarily the alpha 1 isozyme (IC50 = 3.6 X 10(-5) M; 95% of total activity) and lesser amounts of the alpha 2 isozyme (IC50 = 1.1 X 10(-7) M; 5% of total activity). In contrast, the myotubes showed significant levels of the alpha 1 isozyme (IC50 = 4.0 X 10(-5) M; 68% of total activity) and, in addition, showed a 6-fold increase in the relative levels of the alpha 2 isozyme (IC50 = 1.1 X 10(-7) M; 32% of total activity). To quantitate further the expression of the high affinity, ouabain-sensitive alpha 2 isozyme, a whole cell [3H]ouabain-binding assay was used. Results revealed that myotubes have an approximately 6-fold greater concentration of [3H]ouabain-binding sites than myoblasts with an apparent dissociation constant (Kd) of 1.4 X 10(-7) M. The results indicate that muscle cells can express multiple isozymes of Na,K-ATPase and that expression of the alpha 2 isozyme is developmentally regulated during myogenesis.