肌肉生长抑制因子对肌细胞发育的调控研究

肌肉生长抑制因子（MSTN）是动物肌肉生长发育的一个重要的负调控主效基因。它的表达受其他肌肉发育的调控因子如MyoD,FoxO等的调控。MSTN原蛋白经蛋白酶修饰变成的活性蛋白存在于血液循环系统中,它可以结合到细胞膜表面受体,激活细胞内信号通路,与其他因子的协同作用对肌肉发育和脂肪生成产生不同生理效应。本文将对MSTN基因及其蛋白的结构特点,表达调控因子,细胞内信号传导,及其对组织发育的影响进行探讨。     

肌肉生长抑制素调控动物骨骼肌生长机制的研究进展

肌肉生成抑制素（myostatin, MSTN）在动物机体骨骼肌的增殖、分化和生长中起着重要的负调控作用。MSTN基因的过表达会阻碍骨骼肌增殖分化及生长发育,而缺失或表达降低则会导致肌肉肥大,形成双肌现象（double muscle phenomenon, DMP）。MSTN能作用于多个基因及结合多种细胞因子广泛参与生理生化、物质代谢、病理调控等过程,在动物机体生长发育过程中扮演着重要的角色。本文将从MSTN基因的历史渊源、基因定位、时空表达特性、部分相关作用机制等方面进行论述,旨在对MSTN调控动物骨骼肌生长部分机制作梳理,以期为后期研究提供理论依据。     

黄河裸裂尻鱼MSTN基因RNA干扰研究

目的利用反义寡合甘酸技术抑制肌肉生长抑制素(myostatin,MSTN)的表达,评估MSTN基因的沉默效果,并检测RNA干扰后对下游基因的影响。方法通过构建黄河裸裂尻鱼(Schizopygopsis pylzovi)MSTN基因RNA干扰(RNAi)重组腺病毒载体1P3(DSP MSTN 273+250+1737)和1P2(DSP MSTN 195+1670),并将其注射黄河裸裂尻鱼肌肉组织,进行活体RNA干扰;利用real-time PCR和Western blotting评估MSTN基因的沉默效果,并检测MSTN基因RNA干扰后肌肉肌酸激酶(muscle-type creatine kinase,M-CK)基因转录水平的调控作用。结果real-time PCR分析结果表明,与HK组(病毒通用阴性对照组)和N组(空白对照组)相比,重组腺病毒载体1P3对黄河裸裂尻鱼肌肉MSTN基因的转录具有明显的干扰作用(P0.05),抑制率达53.5%;而重组腺病毒载体1P2对MSTN基因的转录无明显干扰作用(P0.05)。Western-blotting分析结果与real-time PCR结果相一致。同时,经1P3干扰后随着MSTN基因转录水平的下降,其肌肉肌酸激酶M-CK基因表达水平显著上升。结论通过RNAi技术能够有效的抑制MSTN基因的表达,并能够上调M-CK基因的表达量。因此,证明了在黄河裸裂尻鱼中MSTN能够抑制M-CK的转录。揭示高原土著鱼类MSTN基因的对肌肉的生长发育起到调控作用。     

Arg缓解MSTN对猪肌肉间充质干细胞成脂-分化的抑制

间充质干细胞可分化为脂肪细胞并沉积脂质,从而增加动物脂肪沉积.因此,猪肌肉间充质干细胞被认为是肌内脂肪的重要来源之一.本研究主要在体外探讨了肌肉生长抑制素（MSTN）对猪肌肉来源间充质干细胞成脂分化的影响及Arg的调控作用.结果表明,外源添加MSTN活性蛋白极显著地降低了胞内甘油三酯水平,而添加Arg或MSTN抗体则表现相反的作用（P〈0.01）.同时添加Arg可缓解MSTN对间充质干细胞脂质沉积的抑制作用（P〈0.01）.生脂转录因子表达模式分析表明,外源添加MSTN抑制了细胞PPARγ2和aP2的表达,添加Arg和MSTN抗体增强了细胞ADD1的表达（P〈0.01）.此外,同时添加MSTN蛋白和Arg较仅添加MSTN蛋白极显著增强了细胞ADD1和PPARδ的表达（P〈0.01）,同时添加MSTN和Arg抗体较仅添加MSTN抗体显著增强了细胞ADD1,PPARδ,C/EBPα,PPARγ2和LPL的表达（P〈0.05）.由此可见,MSTN抑制了猪肌肉来源间充质干细胞成脂分化,添加Arg至少部分地通过上调ADD1和PPARδ的表达来缓解MSTN对成脂分化的抑制作用.     

团头鲂生长相关基因在不同发育时期生长轴组织的表达分析

为了探讨生长相关基因对团头鲂生长发育的调控, 研究采用Real-time PCR的方法定量分析了团头鲂6个生长相关基因在其不同生长发育阶段(3、6、12月龄)相关组织(脑、肝脏、肌肉)的表达情况, 并比较了这些基因在生长快和慢两个群体的表达差异. 结果显示: GHRs基因在肝脏与肌肉中的表达量高于脑, 在6月龄表达量高于3月龄与12月龄, 生长快群体中的表达量高于生长慢群体(P0.05); IGFs基因在三个组织中均有表达, 肝脏表达量最高, 生长快群体中的表达量高于生长慢群体(P0.05). MSTN a与MSTN b基因在组织中表达模式存在差异, MSTN a在肌肉中高表达, MSTN b主要在脑与肝脏中表达. HCL聚类结果表明: 除了MSTN a基因外, 其他5个基因在生长差异的两个群体中表达量均分别聚为一支. 不同时期组织表达聚类结果表明, 除了3月龄肝脏与12月龄肌肉组织, 6个生长相关基因在不同时期的同一组织中的表达模式存在相似性. Pearson相关分析显示: GHRs与IGFs呈正相关, MSTN a基因与GHR 2、IGFs基因呈负相关, 相同基因在两个群体中呈极显著相关(P0.01).       

团头鲂MSTN基因cDNA结构、表达及过表达对胚胎发育的影响

研究通过cDNA末端快速扩增法(RACE)克隆得到团头鲂生长抑制素(MSTN)基因的cDNA全长并分析了MSTN基因在团头鲂胚胎、成鱼组织中表达以及MSTN基因在胚胎中过表达情况。结果表明团头鲂MSTN基因的cDNA全长为2187 bp, ORF(开放阅读框)大小为1128 bp, 编码376个氨基酸。组织逆转录PCR (RT-PCR)结果显示, MSTN基因在肌肉、脑和精巢组织中大量表达, 肝脏、脾脏和卵巢组织中的少量表达, 肠、腮、心、眼和肾组织中的微量表达。胚胎逆转录PCR (RT-PCR)结果显示, 在0—44 hpf胚胎发育阶段, MSTN基因表达量较低; 而在48—52 hpf胚胎发育阶段, MSTN基因表达量逐渐升高。整胚原位杂交(WISH)结果显示, 胚胎发育的16 hpf时期MSTN基因主要在脊索中表达, 胚胎发育的28 hpf和55 hpf时期MSTN基因在脑中表达。MSTN基因过表达结果显示, 胚胎在体节发生期出现前-后轴拉长, 背-腹轴变短; 脊索发生扭曲, 强烈抑制体节发育而导致不分化等现象。研究为后续团头鲂MSTN基因的功能研究及团头鲂分子育种提供相关参考依据。     

牛肌肉生长抑制素基因突变的遗传效应与育种应用

肌肉生长抑制素（myostatin,MSTN）基因主要在骨骼肌中表达,参与调控骨骼肌的生长发育。MSTN基因在不同物种中具有极强的进化保守性,同时还具有较多的突变多态性。在牛的不同品种中,存在不同位点的有义突变,突变型牛均表现为骨骼肌发达,呈现双肌表型,生长速度与产肉率显著提高。同时,该基因突变也引起显著的生理性遗传效应。对国内外肉牛的MSTN基因突变类型、突变后遗传效应及在肉牛育种应用等方面作了重点阐述,以期为我国地方品种肉牛改良和选育研究提供参考。     

黄河裸裂尻鱼肌肉生长抑制素基因克隆及表达分析

肌肉生长抑制素(myostatin,MSTN)属于转化生长因子β(TGF-β)超家族中的一个成员,是骨骼肌生长发育的负调控因子。该文以黄河裸裂尻鱼肌肉总RNA为模板,采用RT-PCT、5’-RACE和3’-RACE法获得MSTN基因全长cDNA序列为2180bp,包含长为1128bp的开放阅读框,编码375个氨基酸。以肌肉总DNA为模板,通过PCR法进一步获得了MSTN基因的2个内含子序列,分析表明,黄河裸裂尻鱼MSTN基因与其他脊椎动物具有相似的基因结构(包括3个外显子和2个内含子)。黄河裸裂尻鱼MSTN具有脊椎动物MSTN的共同序列特征,含有1个蛋白酶水解位点RXXR和8个位于TGF-β功能区域保守的半胱氨酸残基。氨基酸序列同源性分析表明,黄河裸裂尻鱼MSTN序列与其他鲤科鱼类MSTN具有较高的同源性;而与哺乳动物和禽类的MSTN同源性较低。系统发育分析表明,黄河裸裂尻鱼MSTN与其他鲤科鱼类聚于同一进化支。RT-PCR分析表明,该基因在黄河裸裂尻鱼9个被检组织中均有表达,但在心、肾、肠、精巢中表达量较高。Real-TimePCR分析显示,MSTN基因在胚胎中的相对表达量,随胚胎发育阶段的不同而有所差异,暗示MSTN的功能可能并不局限在对肌肉生长发育的负调控作用,可能还有其他功能。     

白羽王鸽肌生成抑制因子基因的多态性与组织表达

肌生成抑制因子在抑制成肌细胞的增殖与分化中起着重要作用。本文采用PCR-SSCP与实时定量RT-PCR方法分析白羽王鸽肌生成抑制因子(MSTN基因)的多态性和在脑、肝脏、胸肌组织中的mRNA表达水平及其与体重的相关性。结果表明在白羽王鸽MSTN基因的外显子1和外显子3区域分别检测到一个多态位点,且均属于沉默突变;肝脏、肌肉和脑组织中MSTN基因的表达量依次为肝脏脑肌肉,且差异极显著。而对不同发育阶段的乳鸽研究发现,随着乳鸽日龄(1～25d)的增长,MSTN基因在各组织中的表达量无明显的线性变化规律。该结果为进一步确定MSTN基因的作用机理提供了新的实验依据。     

大黄鱼肌肉生长抑制素1型和2型基因时空表达分析

肌肉生长抑制素(MSTN)是动物肌肉生长发育重要的负调控因子。大黄鱼存在两种类型的肌肉生长抑制素基因,利用RT-PCR技术,本文对这两个基因在胚胎发育过程和成体鱼中的组织特异性表达进行了分析。在6月龄和18月龄大黄鱼中,MSTN-1和-2均在多种组织表达,但肌肉组织中只有MSTN-1表达。在胚胎发育过程中,MSTN-1在囊胚期前表达,在原肠胚期未检出,到出膜期又开始表达,而MSTN-2在整个胚胎发育期均未检出。结果提示,无论在成鱼还是在胚胎发育过程中,两种类型的MSTN具有不同的表达调控机制。     

Transient inactivation of myostatin induces muscle hypertrophy and overcompensatory growth in zebrafish via inactivation of the SMAD signaling pathway

Myostatin (MSTN) is the main negative regulator of muscle growth and development in vertebrates. In fish, little is known about the molecular mechanisms behind how MSTN inactivation triggers skeletal muscle enhancement, particularly regarding the signaling pathways involved in this process. Moreover, there have not been reports on the biotechnological applications of MSTN and its signal transduction. In this context, zebrafish underwent compensatory growth using fasting and refeeding trials, and MSTN activity was inactivated with dominant negative LAPD76A recombinant proteins during the refeeding period, when a rapid, compensatory muscle growth was observed. Treated fish displayed an overcompensation of growth characterized by higher muscle hypertrophy and growth performance than constantly fed, control fish. Treatment with LAPD76A recombinant proteins triggered inactivation of the SMAD signaling pathway in skeletal muscle, the main signal transduction used by MSTN to achieve its biological actions. Therefore, transient inactivation of MSTN during the compensatory growth of zebrafish led to a decrease in the SMAD signaling pathway in muscle, triggering muscle hypertrophy and finally improving growth performance, thus, zebrafish achieved an overcompensation of growth. The present study shows an attractive strategy for improving muscle growth in a fish species by mixing a classical strategy, such as compensatory growth, and a biotechnological approach, such as the use of recombinant proteins for inhibiting the biological actions of MSTN. The mix of both strategies may represent a method that could be applied in order to improve growth in commercial fish of interest for aquaculture.     

The critical role of myostatin in differentiation of sheep myoblasts

Myostatin [MSTN, also known as growth differentiation factor 8 (GDF8)], is an inhibitor of skeletal muscle growth. Blockade of MSTN function has been reported to result in increased muscle mass in mice. However, its role in myoblast differentiation in farm animals has not been determined. In the present study, we sought to determine the role of MSTN in the differentiation of primary sheep myoblasts. We found that ectopic overexpression of MSTN resulted in lower fusion index in sheep myoblasts, which indicated the repression of myoblast differentiation. This phenotypic change was reversed by shRNA knockdown of the ectopically expressed MSTN in the cells. In contrast, shRNA knockdown of the endogenous MSTN resulted in induction of myogenic differentiation. Additional studies revealed that the induction of differentiation by knocking down the ectopically or endogenously expressed MSTN was accompanied by up-regulation of MyoD and myogenin, and down-regulation of Smad3. Our results demonstrate that MSTN plays critical role in myoblast differentiation in sheep, analogous to that in mice. This study also suggests that shRNA knockdown of MSTN could be a potentially promising approach to improve sheep muscle growth, so as to increase meat productivity.     

Precise editing of myostatin signal peptide by CRISPR/Cas9 increases the muscle mass of Liang Guang Small Spotted pigs

Myostatin (MSTN), a member of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily, is a negative regulator of muscle growth and development. Disruption of the MSTN gene in various mammalian species markedly promotes muscle growth. Previous studies have mainly focused on the disruption of the MSTN peptide coding region in pigs but not on the modification of the signal peptide region. In this study, the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR associated protein 9 (Cas9) system was used to successfully introduce two mutations (PVD20H and GP19del) in the MSTN signal peptide region of the indigenous Chinese pig breed, Liang Guang Small Spotted pig. Both mutations in signal peptide increased the muscle mass without inhibiting the production of mature MSTN peptide in the cells. Histological analysis revealed that the enhanced muscle mass in MSTN^+/PVD20H pig was mainly due to an increase in the number of muscle fibers. The expression of MSTN in the longissimus dorsi muscle of MSTN^+/PVD20H and MSTN^KO/PVD20H pigs was significantly downregulated, whereas that of myogenic regulatory factors, including MyoD, Myogenin, and Myf-5, was significantly upregulated when compared to those in the longissimus dorsi muscle of wild-type pigs. Meanwhile, the mutations also activated the PI3K/Akt pathway. The results of this study indicated that precise editing of the MSTN signal peptide can enhance porcine muscle development without markedly affecting the expression of mature MSTN peptide, which could exert other beneficial biological functions in the edited pigs.

     

Molecular Cloning,Identification, and Expression Patterns of Myostatin Gene in Water Buffalo (Bubalus Bubalis)

Myostatin (MSTN), also named growth differentiation factor 8 (GDF8), is a transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) family member with a key role in the negative regulation of skeletal muscle growth. However, its role in ovarian folliculogenesis remains unclear. To provide us with a basis for understanding this role, we cloned MSTN and examined its expression patterns in water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). The complete ORF of the water buffalo MSTN gene is 1,128 nucleotides, which encode a 375 amino acid protein and sharing 99% identity at the deducted amino acid level with that of Bos taurus. Protein sequence analysis showed that MSTN is a weakly acerbic extracellular protein, consisting of signal peptides at 18-19 sites, a TGF-β propeptide, and a TGF-β domain. RT-PCR analyses demonstrated that water buffalo MSTN was expressed in multiple tissues but not limited to muscle. Immunohistochemistry staining confirmed the presence of MSTN in oocytes and granulosal cells. To our knowledge, this is the first study to confirm the expression of MSTN in the water buffalo ovary, suggesting an additional role of MSTN in water buffalo folliculogenesis, along with its role in skeletal muscle growth regulation. Further study of the regulatory mechanism of MSTN in water buffalo reproduction is warranted.

Abbreviations: MSTN, myostatin; ORF, open reading frame.     

Myostatin-deficient medaka exhibit a double-muscling phenotype with hyperplasia and hypertrophy, which occur sequentially during post-hatch development

Myostatin (MSTN) functions as a negative regulator of skeletal muscle mass. In mammals, MSTN-deficient animals result in an increase of skeletal muscle mass with both hyperplasia and hypertrophy. A MSTN gene is highly conserved within the fish species, allowing speculation that MSTN-deficient fish could exhibit a double-muscled phenotype. Some strategies for blocking or knocking down MSTN in adult fish have been already performed; however, these fish show either only hyperplastic or hypertrophic growth in muscle fiber. Therefore, the role of MSTN in fish myogenesis during post-hatch growth remains unclear. To address this question, we have made MSTN-deficient medaka (mstnC315Y) by using the targeting induced local lesions in a genome method. mstnC315Y can reproduce and have the same survival period as WT medaka. Growth rates of WT and mstnC315Y were measured at juvenile (1–2 wk post-hatching), post-juvenile (3–7 wk post-hatching) and adult (8–16 wk post-hatching) stages. In addition, effects of MSTN on skeletal muscle differentiation were investigated at histological and molecular levels at each developmental stage. As a result, mstnC315Y show a significant increase in body weight from the post-juvenile to adult stage. Hyper-morphogenesis of skeletal muscle in mstnC315Y was accomplished due to hyperplastic growth from post-juvenile to early adult stage, followed by hypertrophic growth in the adult stage. Myf-5 and MyoD were up-regulated in mstnC315Y at the hyperplastic growth phase, while myogenin was highly expressed in mstnC315Y at the hypertrophic growth phase. These indicated that MSTN in medaka plays a dual role for muscle fiber development. In conclusion, MSTN in medaka regulates the number and size of muscle fiber in a temporally-controlled manner during posthatch growth.     

Mutations in the Myostatin gene leading to hypermuscularity in mammals: indications for a similar mechanism in fish?

The transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) superfamily encodes secreted factors that are important in regulating embryonic development and tissue homeostatis in adults. Myostatin (MSTN, encoded by MSTN) or 'growth and differentiation factor 8', a member of this superfamily, is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth and is highly conserved among animal species. In 1997, a mutation associated with the so-called double-muscling phenotype in cattle was found in the MSTN gene. During the years following the discovery of the first MSTN mutation, other mutations were found in cattle and other mammalian species, and MSTN became one of the most thoroughly studied genes in animals. The aim of this review is mainly to describe the functional mutations located in the MSTN genes of several mammalian species, leading to double muscling in these animals. Furthermore, in light of the increasing importance of fish genetics, the possibility of functional mutations in piscine MSTN with a similar effect as in mammals, and a genetic model for MSTN research in fish, will also be discussed.