Wnt proteins are secreted cytokines and several Wnts are expressed in the developing somites and surrounding tissues. Without proper Wnt stimulation, the organization of the dermomyotome and myotome can become defective. These Wnt signals received by somitic cells can lead to activation of Pax3/Pax7 and myogenic regulatory factors (MRFs), especially Myf5 and MyoD. However, it is currently unkno...

Feeding metabolism and the activation of myogenic progenitor cells were investigated in the fast myotomal muscle of the sub-Antarctic fish Hapagifer bispinis acclimatized to either simulated summer (10 degrees C; 18 h:6 h light:dark) or simulated winter (5 degrees C; 6 h:18 h light:dark) conditions. Ingestion of a single meal equivalent to 10% and 15% of body mass in simulated winter and summer...

Locomotion mediated by skeletal muscle provides a basis for the behavioral repertoire of most animals. Embryological and genetic studies of mouse, bird, fish and frog embryos are providing insights into the functions of the myogenic regulatory factors (MRFs) and the signaling molecules that regulate activity of MRFs. Nevertheless, our understanding of muscle development remains somewhat limited...

The myogenic regulatory factors are necessary for the determination and terminal differentiation of skeletal muscle. Gene targeting experiments have demonstrated that MyoD and Myf5 are important for myogenic determination whereas myogenin and MRF4 are important for terminal differentiation and lineage maintenance. During development, all trunk skeletal muscle is derived from the somite. Two spa...

To evaluate the biological functions of myogenic regulatory factors, we have examined the effects of ectopic expression of MyoD and Cx43 genes in the fibroblasts on the differentiation of myoblast in vitro. The expression of MyoD and Cx43 in the transfectants was confirmed by RT-PCR and Western blot. More than 50% of fibroblasts transfected with MyoD or both MyoD and Cx43 genes displayed typica...

Pax3/7-dependent stem cells play an essential role in skeletal muscle development. We now show that Fgfr4 lies genetically downstream from Pax3 and is a direct target. In chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-on-chip experiments, Pax3 binds to a sequence 3' of the Fgfr4 gene that directs Pax3-dependent expression at sites of myogenesis in transgenic mouse embryos. The activity of this regulatory...

Craniofacial and trunk skeletal muscles are evolutionarily distinct and derive from cranial and somitic mesoderm, respectively. Different regulatory hierarchies act upstream of myogenic regulatory factors in cranial and somitic mesoderm, but the same core regulatory network - MyoD, Myf5 and Mrf4 - executes the myogenic differentiation program. Notch signaling controls self-renewal of myogenic p...

The positive regulatory domain containing 16 (PRDM16) is commonly regarded as a "switch" controlling the transdifferentiation of myoblasts to brown adipocytes. The N-positive regulatory (PR) domain, which is highly homologous to SET domain, is a characteristic structure for the PRDM family. Many SET domain containing proteins and several PRDM members have been found to possess histone methyltra...

Skeletal muscle loss is associated with aging as well as pathological conditions. Satellite cells (SCs) play an important role in muscle regeneration. Omega-3 fatty acids are widely studied in a variety of muscle wasting diseases; however, little is known about their impact on skeletal muscle regeneration. The aim of this review is to evaluate studies examining the effect of omega-3 fatty acids...