The myogenic differentiation 1 (MyoD) gene is a master regulator of myogenesis. We previously reported that the expression of MyoD mRNA oscillates over 24 h in skeletal muscle and that the circadian clock transcription factors, BMAL1 (brain and muscle ARNT-like 1) and CLOCK (circadian locomotor output cycles kaput), were bound to the core enhancer (CE) of the MyoD gene in vivo. In this study, w...

MyoD heterodimerizes with E type factors (E12/E47 and ITF-2A/ITF-2B) and binds E box sequences within promoters of muscle-specific genes. In transient transfection assays, MyoD activates transcription in the presence of ITF-2A but not ITF-2B, which contains a 182-amino acid N-terminal extension. The first 83 amino acids of the inhibitory N terminus of ITF-2B show high sequence homology to the N...

Myocardial infarcts heal by scar formation because there are no stem cells in myocardium, and because adult myocytes cannot divide and repopulate the wound. We sought to redirect the heart to form skeletal muscle instead of scar by transferring the myogenic determination gene, MyoD, into cardiac granulation (wound repair) tissue. A replication-defective adenovirus was constructed containing Myo...

Tissue-specific transcriptional activators initiate differentiation towards specialized cell types by inducing chromatin modifications permissive for transcription at target loci, through the recruitment of SWItch/Sucrose NonFermentable (SWI/SNF) chromatin-remodelling complex. However, the molecular mechanism that regulates SWI/SNF nuclear distribution in response to differentiation signals is ...

X-linked Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (X-EDMD) is caused by mutations in the inner nuclear membrane protein emerin. Previous studies have shown that emerin binds to and inhibits the activity of LIM domain only 7 (Lmo7), a transcription factor that regulates the expression of genes implicated in X-EDMD. Here, we analyzed Lmo7 function in C2C12 myoblast differentiation and its regulation by ...

The effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on plasma cortisol and the expression of MyoD and myostatin (MSTN) mRNAs were evaluated in channel catfish. In addition, the effect of dexamethasone (Dex) on MyoD and MSTN mRNAs was examined. For the LPS injection experiments, juvenile channel catfish were injected intraperitoneally with 1.5 mg/kg LPS or sterile PBS. Blood was collected at 1, 3, 12, and 2...

While medulloblastoma, a pediatric tumor of the cerebellum, is characterized by aberrations in developmental pathways, the majority of genetic determinants remain unknown. An unbiased Sleeping Beauty transposon screen revealed MyoD as a putative medulloblastoma tumor suppressor. This was unexpected, as MyoD is a muscle differentiation factor and not previously known to be expressed in cerebellu...

Skeletal muscle is rich in lymphatic vessels, with an abundant blood supply, and it is an infrequent site of cancer metastasis. Previous studies have demonstrated that enhanced secretion of MyoD may occur when skeletal muscle is injured or becomes cancerous. It was hypothesized that MyoD may act as an endogenous cytokine to inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells. To verify the possible effec...

Dictyostelium discoideum MyoD, a long-tailed class I myosin, co-purified with two copies of a 16 kDa light chain. Sequence analysis of the MyoD light chain showed it to be a unique protein, termed MlcD, that shares 44% sequence identity with Dictyostelium calmodulin and 43% sequence identity with Acanthamoeba castellanii myosin IC light chain. MlcD comprises four EF-hands; however, EF-hands 2-4...

Basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins mediate terminal differentiation in many lineages. By using the bHLH protein MyoD, which can dominantly activate the myogenic differentiation program in numerous cell types, we demonstrated that recessive defects in bHLH protein function are present in human tumor lines. In contrast to prior work with primary cell cultures, MyoD did not activate the myogen...