The myosin light chain enhancer and the skeletal actin promoter share a binding site for factors involved in muscle-specific gene expression.

The myosin light chain (MLC) 1/3 enhancer (MLC enhancer), identified at the 3' end of the skeletal MLC1/3 locus, contains a sequence motif that is homologous to a protein-binding site of the skeletal muscle alpha-actin promoter. Gel shift, competition, and footprint assays demonstrated that a CArG motif in the MLC enhancer binds the proteins MAPF1 and MAPF2, previously identified as factors interacting with the muscle regulatory element of the skeletal alpha-actin promoter. Transient transfection assays with constructs containing the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene demonstrated that a 115-bp subfragment of the MLC enhancer is able to exert promoter activity when provided with a silent nonmuscle TATA box. A point mutation at the MAPF1/2-binding site interferes with factor binding and abolishes the promoter activity of the 115-bp fragment. The observation that an oligonucleotide encompassing the MAPF1/2 site of the MLC enhancer alone cannot serve as a promoter element suggests that additional factor-binding sites are necessary for this function. The finding that MAPF1 and MAPF2 recognize similar sequence motifs in two muscle genes, simultaneously activated during muscle differentiation, implies that these factors may have a role in coordinating the activation of contractile protein gene expression during myogenesis.     

Differential expression of two skeletal muscle beta-tropomyosin mRNAs during Xenopus laevis development

A cDNA clone for a Xenopus laevis skeletal muscle beta-tropomyosin (beta-TMad) isoform was isolated from an adult skeletal muscle cDNA library. Sequence analysis revealed that this clone corresponded to a second beta-tropomyosin mRNA distinct from the one that was previously characterized (beta-TMemb). The two skeletal beta-TM mRNAs originate from distinct genes and are differentially expressed during development. Beta-TMemb mRNA is expressed only in the somites of the early embryo while beta-TMad mRNA is expressed in pre-metamorphic tadpoles and adult skeletal muscles. We have isolated the promoter region of the beta-TMemb gene and shown that a DNA construct containing 2.9 kb of promoter region is properly expressed after injection in the embryo.     

Characterization of a cardiac-specific enhancer, which directs {alpha}-cardiac actin gene transcription in the mouse adult heart

Expression of the mouse alpha-cardiac actin gene in skeletal and cardiac muscle is regulated by enhancers lying 5' to the proximal promoter. Here we report the characterization of a cardiac-specific enhancer located within -2.354/-1.36 kbp of the gene, which is active in cardiocytes but not in C2 skeletal muscle cells. In vivo it directs reporter gene expression to the adult heart, where the proximal promoter alone is inactive. An 85-bp region within the enhancer is highly conserved between human and mouse and contains a central AT-rich site, which is essential for enhancer activity. This site binds myocyte enhancer factor (MEF)2 factors, principally MEF2D and MEF2A in cardiocyte nuclear extracts. These results are discussed in the context of MEF2 activity and of the regulation of the alpha-cardiac actin locus.     

Functional activity of the two promoters of the myosin alkali light chain gene in primary muscle cell cultures: comparison with other muscle gene promoters and other culture systems.

Proximal upstream flanking sequences of the mouse myosin alkali light chain gene encoding MLC1F and MLC3F, the mouse alpha-cardiac actin gene and the chicken gene for the alpha-subunit of the acetylcholine receptor were linked to the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) gene and transfected into primary cultures derived from mouse skeletal muscle or into myogenic cell lines. We demonstrate that the mouse MLC1F/MLC3F gene has two functional promoters. In primary muscle cultures, a 1200 bp sequence flanking exon 1 (MLC1F) and a 438 bp sequence flanking exon 2 (MLC3F) direct CAT activity in myotubes, but not in myoblasts or in non myogenic 3T6 and CV1 cells. Developmentally regulated expression is also seen with the alpha-cardiac actin (320 bp) and acetylcholine receptor alpha-subunit (850 bp) upstream sequences in the primary culture system. Transfection experiments with myogenic cell lines show different results with a given promoter construct, reflecting possible differences in the levels of regulatory factors between lines. Different muscle gene promoters behave differently in a given cell line, suggesting different regulatory factor requirements between these promoters.     

An E box comprises a positional sensor for regional differences in skeletal muscle gene expression and methylation.

To dissect the molecular mechanisms conferring positional information in skeletal muscles, we characterized the control elements responsible for the positionally restricted expression patterns of a muscle-specific transgene reporter, driven by regulatory sequences from the MLC1/3 locus. These sequences have previously been shown to generate graded transgene expression in the segmented axial muscles and their myotomal precursors, fortuitously marking their positional address. An evolutionarily conserved E box in the MLC enhancer core, not recognized by MyoD, is a target for a nuclear protein complex, present in a variety of tissues, which includes Hox proteins and Zbu1, a DNA-binding member of the SW12/SNF2 gene family. Mutation of this E box in the MLC enhancer has only a modest positive effect on linked CAT gene expression in transfected muscle cells, but when introduced into transgenic mice the same mutation elevates CAT transgene expression in skeletal muscles, specifically releasing the rostral restriction on MLC-CAT transgene expression in the segmented axial musculature. Increased transgene activity resulting from the E box mutation in the MLC enhancer correlates with reduced DNA methylation of the distal transgenic MLC1 promoter as well as in the enhancer itself. These results identify an E box and the proteins that bind to it as a positional sensor responsible for regional differences in axial skeletal muscle gene expression and accessibility.     

A skeletal muscle-specific enhancer regulated by factors binding to E and CArG boxes is present in the promoter of the mouse myosin light-chain 1A gene.

The mouse myosin light-chain 1A (MLC1A) gene, expressed in the atria of the adult heart, is one of the first muscle genes to be activated when skeletal as well as cardiac muscles form in the embryo. It is also transcribed in skeletal muscle cell lines at the onset of differentiation. Transient transfection assays of mouse skeletal muscle cell lines with DNA constructs containing MLC1A promoter fragments fused to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene show that the first 630 bp of the promoter is sufficient to direct expression of the reporter gene during myotube formation. Two E boxes located at bp -76 and -519 are necessary for this regulation. MyoD and myogenin proteins bind to them as heterodimers with E12 protein and, moreover, transactivate them in cotransfection experiments with the MLC1A promoter in nonmuscle cells. Interestingly, the effect of mutating each E box is less striking in primary cultures than in the C2 or Sol8 muscle cell line. A DNA fragment from bp -36 to -597 confers tissue- and stage-specific activity to the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase promoter in both orientations, showing that the skeletal muscle-specific regulation of the MLC1A gene is under the control of a muscle-specific enhancer which extends into the proximal promoter region. At bp -89 is a diverged CArG box, CC(A/T)6AG, which binds the serum response factor (SRF) in myotube nuclear extracts, as does the wild-type sequence, CC(A/T)6GG. Both types of CArG box also bind a novel myotube-enriched complex which has contact points with the AT-rich part of the CArG box and adjacent 3' nucleotides. Mutations within the CArG box distinguish between the binding of this complex and binding of SRF; only SRF binding is directly involved in the specific regulation of the MLC1A gene in skeletal muscle cell lines.     

Distinct regulatory elements control muscle-specific, fiber-type-selective, and axially graded expression of a myosin light-chain gene in transgenic mice.

The fast alkali myosin light chain 1f/3f (MLC1f/3f) gene is developmentally regulated, muscle specific, and preferentially expressed in fast-twitch fibers. A transgene containing an MLC1f promoter plus a downstream enhancer replicates this pattern of expression in transgenic mice. Unexpectedly, this transgene is also expressed in a striking (approximately 100-fold) rostrocaudal gradient in axial muscles (reviewed by J. R. Sanes, M. J. Donoghue, M. C. Wallace, and J. P. Merlie, Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 57:451-460, 1992). Here, we analyzed the expression of mutated transgenes to map sites necessary for muscle-specific, fiber-type-selective, and axially graded expression. We show that two E boxes (myogenic factor binding sites), a homeodomain (hox) protein binding site, and an MEF2 site, which are clustered in an approximately 170-bp core enhancer, are all necessary for maximal transgene activity in muscle but not for fiber-type- or position-dependent expression. A distinct region within the core enhancer promotes selective expression of the transgene in fast-twitch muscles. Sequences that flank the core enhancer are also necessary for high-level activity in transgenic mice but have little influence on activity in transfected cells, suggesting the presence of regions resembling matrix attachment sites. Truncations of the MLC1f promoter affected position-dependent expression of the transgene, revealing distinct regions that repress transgene activity in neck muscles and promote differential expression among intercostal muscles. Thus, the whole-body gradient of expression displayed by the complete transgene may reflect the integrated activities of discrete elements that regulate expression in subsets of muscles. Finally, we show that transgene activity is not significantly affected by deletion or overexpression of the myoD gene, suggesting that intermuscular differences in myogenic factor levels do not affect patterns of transgene expression. Together, our results provide evidence for at least nine distinct sites that exert major effects on the levels and patterns of MLC1f expression in adult muscles.