The muscle regulators MyoD and Myf-5 control cell cycle withdrawal and induction of differentiation in skeletal muscle cells. By immunofluorescence analysis, we show that MyoD and Myf-5 expression patterns become mutually exclusive when C2 cells are induced to differentiate with Myf-5 staining present in cells which fail to differentiate. Isolation of these undifferentiated cells reveals that upon serum stimulation they reenter the cell cycle, express MyoD and downregulate Myf-5. Similar regulations of MyoD and Myf-5 were observed using cultured primary myoblasts derived from satellite cells. To further analyze these regulations of MyoD and Myf-5 expression, we synchronized proliferating myoblasts. Analysis of MyoD and Myf-5 expression during cell cycle progression revealed distinct and contrasting profiles of expression. MyoD is absent in G0, peaks in mid-G1, falls to its minimum level at G1/S and reaugments from S to M. In contrast, Myf-5 protein is high in G0, decreases during G1 and reappears at the end of G1 to remain stable until mitosis. These data demonstrate that the two myogenic factors MyoD and Myf-5 undergo specific and distinct cell cycle–dependent regulation, thus establishing a correlation between the cell cycle–specific ratios of MyoD and Myf-5 and the capacity of cells to differentiate: (a) in G1, when cells express high levels of MyoD and enter differentiation; (b) in G0, when cells express high levels of Myf-5 and fail to differentiate.

We have examined the role of protein phosphorylation in the modulation of the key muscle-specific transcription factor MyoD. We show that MyoD is highly phosphorylated in growing myoblasts and undergoes substantial dephosphorylation during differentiation. MyoD can be efficiently phosphorylated in vitro by either purified cdk1-cyclin B or cdk1 and cdk2 immunoprecipitated from proliferative myoblasts. Comparative two-dimensional tryptic phosphopeptide mapping combined with site-directed mutagenesis revealed that cdk1 and cdk2 phosphorylate MyoD on serine 200 in proliferative myoblasts. In addition, when the seven prolinedirected sites in MyoD were individually mutated, only substitution of serine 200 to a nonphosphorylatable alanine (MyoD-Ala200) abolished the slower-migrating hyperphosphorylated form of MyoD, seen either in vitro after phosphorylation by cdk1-cyclin B or in vivo following overexpression in 10T1/2 cells. The MyoDAla200 mutant displayed activity threefold higher than that of wild-type MyoD in transactivation of an E-box-dependent reporter gene and promoted markedly enhanced myogenic conversion and fusion of 10T1/2 fibroblasts into muscle cells. In addition, the half-life of MyoD-Ala200 protein was longer than that of wild-type MyoD, substantiating a role of Ser200 phosphorylation in regulating MyoD turnover in proliferative myoblasts. Taken together, our data show that direct phosphorylation of MyoD Ser200 by cdk1 and cdk2 plays an integral role in compromising MyoD activity during myoblast proliferation.Skeletal muscle differentiation is characterized by withdrawal of myoblasts from the cell cycle, induction of musclespecific gene expression, and cell fusion into multinucleated myotubes. All of these events are coordinated by a family of muscle-specific transcription factors including MyoD (8), Myf5 (4), myogenin (12, 56), and MRF4 (39). These proteins show homology within a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) domain that mediates both heterodimerization with ubiquitous activating bHLH proteins such as E12 and E47 and DNA binding to a specific sequence, CANNTG, called the E box (9,25,30). One of the most remarkable properties of myogenic factors is that their ectopic expression in nonmuscle cells forces these cells into muscle differentiation, a process known as myogenic conversion (6, 8). Although capable of inhibiting cell proliferation (7, 47) and inducing differentiation, MyoD is constitutively expressed in proliferating myoblasts long before differentiation takes place, implying that its activity is regulated in replicating cells (26,49). Indeed, when cultured myoblasts are exposed to serum or growth factors such as basic fibroblast growth factor and transforming growth factor ␤, both muscle differentiation and MyoD activity are inhibited (34, 48). One of the inhibitory mechanisms that target MyoD in proliferative myoblasts involves the Id family of proteins. These HLH proteins, which are devoid of DNA-binding basic domains, can heterodimerize with bHLH factors, thus inhibiting their binding to DN...

During ex vivo myoblast differentiation, a pool of quiescent mononucleated myoblasts, reserve cells, arise alongside myotubes. Insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF) and PKB/Akt-dependent phosphorylation activates skeletal muscle differentiation and hypertrophy. We have investigated the role of glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3) inhibition by protein kinase B (PKB)/Akt and Wnt/␤-catenin pathways in reserve cell activation during myoblast differentiation and myotube hypertrophy. Inhibition of GSK-3 by LiCl or SB216763, restored insulin-dependent differentiation of C2ind myoblasts in low serum, and cooperated with insulin in serum-free medium to induce MyoD and myogenin expression in C2ind myoblasts, quiescent C2 or primary human reserve cells. We show that LiCl treatment induced nuclear accumulation of ␤-catenin in C2 myoblasts, thus mimicking activation of canonical Wnt signaling. Similarly to the effect of GSK-3 inhibitors with insulin, coculturing C2 reserve cells with Wnt1-expressing fibroblasts enhanced insulinstimulated induction of MyoD and myogenin in reserve cells. A similar cooperative effect of LiCl or Wnt1 with insulin was observed during late ex vivo differentiation and promoted increased size and fusion of myotubes. We show that this synergistic effect on myotube hypertrophy involved an increased fusion of reserve cells into preexisting myotubes. These data reveal insulin and Wnt/␤-catenin pathways cooperate in muscle cell differentiation through activation and recruitment of satellite cell-like reserve myoblasts. INTRODUCTIONSatellite cells are skeletal muscle adult stem cells that participate in postnatal muscle growth and regeneration. Although satellite cells are normally quiescent in adult muscle, they are responsible for muscle regeneration after injury and involved in work-or load-induced muscle fiber hypertrophy (Rosenblatt and Parry, 1992;Schultz and McCormick, 1994;De Angelis et al., 1999;Semsarian et al., 1999;Bodine et al., 2001).Ex vivo models such as myogenic cell lines were isolated from adult mouse muscle and as such are derived from adult satellite cells. At the proliferative stage, myoblasts (activated satellite cells) can be grown extensively in high serum-containing medium and express MyoD, a musclespecific transcription factor that regulates the differentiation process (Weintraub, 1993). When serum levels are lowered, myoblasts exit the cell cycle and spontaneously differentiate, giving rise to a heterogeneous population of cells. The first and major subpopulation is composed of myotubes, quiescent multinucleated cells expressing muscle-specific structural proteins. The remaining subset is composed of quiescent, mononucleated and undifferentiated cells termed reserve cells. Reserve cells retain the ability to be activated and proliferate after which they can be induced to differentiate, leading again to a new mixed population of myotubes and reserve cells. They also express at least two genes characteristic of skeletal muscle stem cells, namely, myf-5 and cd34 and from these c...

Insulin-like growth factors positively regulate muscle differentiation through activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PKB/Akt) signaling pathway. Here, we compare the role of the two closely related ␣ (Akt1) and ␤ (Akt2) isoforms of PKB in muscle differentiation. During differentiation of C2.7 or L6D2 myoblasts, PKB␤ was up-regulated whereas expression of PKB␣ was unaltered. Although the two isoforms were found active in both myoblasts and myotubes, cell fractionation experiments indicated that they displayed distinct subcellular localizations in differentiated cells with only PKB␤ localized in the nuclei. In a transactivation assay, PKB␤ (either wild-type or constitutively active) was more efficient than PKB␣ in activating musclespecific gene expression. Moreover, microinjection of specific antibodies to PKB␤ inhibited differentiation of muscle cells, whereas control or anti-PKB␣ antibodies did not. On the other hand, microinjection of the anti-PKB␣ antibodies caused a block in cell cycle progression in both non muscle and muscle cells, whereas anti-PKB␤ antibodies had no effect. Taken together, these results show that PKB␤ plays a crucial role in the commitment of myoblasts to differentiation that cannot be substituted by PKB␣.

The histone acetyl transferase Tip60 (HTATIP) belongs to a multimolecular complex involved in the cellular response to DNA damage. Tip60 participates in cell cycle arrest following DNA damage by allowing p53 to activate p21CIP (p21) expression. We show here that Tip60 and the E1A-associated p400 protein (EP400), which belongs to the Tip60 complex, are also required for DNA damageinduced apoptosis. Tip60 favours the expression of some proapoptotic p53 target genes most likely through the stimulation of p53 DNA binding activity. In contrast, p400 represses p21 expression in unstressed cells, thereby allowing cell cycle progression and DNA damage-induced apoptosis. Tip60 and p400 have thus opposite effects on p21 expression in the absence of DNA damage. We further found that this antagonism relies on the inhibition of Tip60 function by p400, a property that is abolished following DNA damage. Therefore, taken together, our results indicate that Tip60 and p400 play distinct roles in DNA damage-induced apoptosis and underline the importance of the Tip60 complex and its regulation in the proper control of cell fate.

In order to study to what extent and at which stage serum response factor (SRF) is indispensable for myogenesis, we stably transfected C2 myogenic cells with, successively, a glucocorticoid receptor expression vector and a construct allowing for the expression of an SRF antisense RNA under the direction of the mouse mammary tumor virus long terminal repeat. In the clones obtained, SRF synthesis is reversibly down-regulated by induction of SRF antisense RNA expression by dexamethasone, whose effect is antagonized by the antihormone RU486. Two kinds of proliferation and differentiation patterns have been obtained in the resulting clones. Some clones with a high level of constitutive SRF antisense RNA expression are unable to differentiate into myotubes; their growth can be blocked by further induction of SRF antisense RNA expression by dexamethasone. Other clones are able to differentiate and are able to synthesize SRF, MyoD, myogenin, and myosin heavy chain at confluency. When SRF antisense RNA expression is induced in proliferating myoblasts by dexamethasone treatment, cell growth is blocked and cyclin A concentration drops. When SRF antisense RNA synthesis is induced in arrested confluent myoblasts cultured in a differentiation medium, cell fusion is blocked and synthesis of not only SRF but also MyoD, myogenin, and myosin heavy chain is inhibited. Our results show, therefore, that SRF synthesis is indispensable for both myoblast proliferation and myogenic differentiation.

Abstract. The 67-kD serum response factor (p67 sRF) is a ubiquitous nuclear transcription factor that acts by direct binding to a consensus DNA sequence, the serum response element (SRE), present in the promoter region of numerous genes. Although p67 sRF was initially implicated in the activation of mitogen-stimulated genes, the identification of a sequence similar to SRE, the CArG box motif, competent to interact with SRE binding factors in many muscle-specific genes, has led to speculation that, in addition to its function in cell proliferation, p67 sRF may play a role in muscle differentiation. Indirect immunofluorescence using affinity-purified antibodies specifically directed against p67 sRF reveals that this factor is constitutively expressed and localized in the nucleus of two skeletal muscle cell lines: rat L6 and mouse C2 myogenic cells during myogenic differentiation. This result was further confirmed through immunoblotting and Northern blot analysis. Furthermore, specific inhibition of p67 sRF in vivo through microinjection of purified p67 s~ antibodies prevented the myoblast-myotube transition and the expression of muscle-specific genes such as the protein troponin T. We further showed that anti-p67 sRF injection also inhibited the expression of the myogenic factor myogenin, implying an early requirement for p67 sRF in muscle differentiation. These results demonstrate that p67 s~ is involved in the process of skeletal muscle differentiation. The potential action of p67 sRF via CArG sequences is discussed.

To understand the mechanism by which the serum response factor (SRF) is involved in the process of skeletal muscle differentiation, we have assessed the effect of inhibiting SRF activity or synthesis on the expression of the muscle-determining factor MyoD. Inhibition of SRF activity in mouse myogenic C2C12 cells through microinjection of either the SRE oligonucleotide (which acts by displacing SRF proteins from the endogenous SRE sequences), purified SRF-DB (a 30-kDa portion of SRF containing the DNAbinding domain of SRF, which acts as a dominant negative mutant in vivo), or purified anti-SRF antibodies rapidly prevents the expression of MyoD. Moreover, the rapid shutdown of MyoD expression after in vivo inhibition of SRF activity is observed not only in proliferating myoblasts but also in myoblasts cultured under differentiating conditions. Additionally, by using a cellular system expressing a glucocorticoid-inducible antisense-SRF (from aa 74 to 244) we have shown that blocking SRF expression by dexamethasone induction of antisense SRF results in the lack of MyoD expression as probed by both immunofluorescence and Northern blot analysis. Taken together these data demonstrate that SRF expression and activity are required for the expression of the muscle-determining factor MyoD.