Project description:Myogenesis is a highly orchestrated process whereby muscle precursor cells, myoblasts, develop into muscle fibers to form skeletal muscle during embryogenesis and regenerate adult muscle. Here, we studied the RNA-binding protein FUS (fused in sarcoma), which has been implicated in muscular and neuromuscular pathologies but is poorly characterized in myogenesis. Given that FUS levels declined in human and mouse models of skeletal myogenesis, and that silencing FUS enhanced myogenesis, we hypothesized that FUS might be a repressor of myogenic differentiation. Interestingly, overexpression of FUS delayed myogenesis, accompanied by slower production of muscle differentiation markers. To identify the mechanisms through which FUS inhibits myogenesis, we uncovered RNA targets of FUS by ribonucleoprotein immunoprecipitation (RIP) followed by RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis. Stringent selection of the bound transcripts uncovered Tnnt1 mRNA, encoding troponin T (TNNT1), as a major effector of FUS influence on myogenesis. We found that in myoblasts, FUS sequestered Tnnt1 mRNA in the nucleus, preventing TNNT1 expression; however, reduction of FUS during myogenesis or by silencing FUS released Tnnt1 mRNA for export to the cytoplasm, where it accumulated and was translated into TNNT1, promoting myogenesis. We propose that FUS inhibits myogenesis by suppressing TNNT1 expression through a mechanism of nuclear mRNA retention.
Project description:Myogenesis is a highly orchestrated process whereby muscle precursor cells, myoblasts, develop into muscle fibers to form skeletal muscle during embryogenesis and regenerate adult muscle. Here, we studied the RNA-binding protein FUS (fused in sarcoma), which has been implicated in muscular and neuromuscular pathologies but is poorly characterized in myogenesis. Given that FUS levels declined in human and mouse models of skeletal myogenesis, and that silencing FUS enhanced myogenesis, we hypothesized that FUS might be a repressor of myogenic differentiation. Interestingly, overexpression of FUS delayed myogenesis, accompanied by slower production of muscle differentiation markers. To identify the mechanisms through which FUS inhibits myogenesis, we uncovered RNA targets of FUS by ribonucleoprotein immunoprecipitation (RIP) followed by RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis. Stringent selection of the bound transcripts uncovered Tnnt1 mRNA, encoding troponin T (TNNT1), as a major effector of FUS influence on myogenesis. We found that in myoblasts, FUS sequestered Tnnt1 mRNA in the nucleus, preventing TNNT1 expression; however, reduction of FUS during myogenesis or by silencing FUS released Tnnt1 mRNA for export to the cytoplasm, where it accumulated and was translated into TNNT1, promoting myogenesis. We propose that FUS inhibits myogenesis by suppressing TNNT1 expression through a mechanism of nuclear mRNA retention.
Project description:Myogenesis is governed by signalling networks whose regulations are tightly controlled in a time-dependent manner. While different protein kinases have been identified to regulate various aspects of myogenesis, knowledge on the global signalling networks and their downstream substrates during myogenesis remains incomplete. Here, we map the myogenic differentiation of C2C12 cells using mass spectrometry (MS)-based phosphoproteomics and proteomics. From these data, we infer global kinase activity and predict substrates of key kinases that are involved in myogenesis. We found that multiple mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) mark the initial wave of signalling cascades. Further phosphoproteomic and proteomic profiling with MAPK1/3 and MAPK8/9 specific inhibitions unveil their shared and distinctive roles on myogenesis.
Project description:The RNA binding protein FUS exerts its function in several RNA biosynthetic processes; moreover, mutations leading to changes in its expression levels or alterations in cellular compartmentalization have been linked to the pathogenesis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Here, we describe an additional novel function of FUS, that is the control of back-splicing reactions which lead to circular RNA (circRNA) production. We identified circRNAs expressed in murine ES-derived motoneurons and then compared their levels in control versus FUS-/- cells. We discovered that a considerable number of circRNAs is affected by FUS levels.
Project description:Upon muscle injury the high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) protein is up-regulated and secreted to initiate reparative responses. Here we show that HMGB1 controls myogenesis both in vitro and in vivo, during development and after adult muscle injury. HMGB1 expression in muscle cells is regulated at the translational level: the miRNA miR-1192 inhibits HMGB1 translation and the RNA-binding protein HuR promotes it. HuR binds to a cis-element, HuRBS, located in the 3'UTR of the HMGB1 transcript, and at the same time miR-1192 is recruited to an adjacent seed element. The binding of HuR to the HuRBS prevents the recruitment of Argonaute 2 (Ago2), overriding miR-1192-mediated translation inhibition. Depleting HuR reduces myoblast fusion and silencing miR-1192 re-establishes the fusion potential of HuR-depleted cells. We propose that HuR promotes the commitment of myoblasts to myogenesis by enhancing the translation of HMGB1 and suppressing the translation inhibition mediated by miR-1192. RNA content was extracted following immunoprecipitation of HuR using a monoclonal antibody (3A2) and the levels of mRNA were compared to an IgG control in order to determine which transcripts were enriched in the HuR ribonucleoprotein complex.
Project description:Upon muscle injury the high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) protein is up-regulated and secreted to initiate reparative responses. Here we show that HMGB1 controls myogenesis both in vitro and in vivo, during development and after adult muscle injury. HMGB1 expression in muscle cells is regulated at the translational level: the miRNA miR-1192 inhibits HMGB1 translation and the RNA-binding protein HuR promotes it. HuR binds to a cis-element, HuRBS, located in the 3'UTR of the HMGB1 transcript, and at the same time miR-1192 is recruited to an adjacent seed element. The binding of HuR to the HuRBS prevents the recruitment of Argonaute 2 (Ago2), overriding miR-1192-mediated translation inhibition. Depleting HuR reduces myoblast fusion and silencing miR-1192 re-establishes the fusion potential of HuR-depleted cells. We propose that HuR promotes the commitment of myoblasts to myogenesis by enhancing the translation of HMGB1 and suppressing the translation inhibition mediated by miR-1192. RNA content was extracted following immunoprecipitation of HuR using a monoclonal antibody (3A2) and the levels of mRNA were compared to an IgG control in order to determine which transcripts were enriched in the HuR ribonucleoprotein complex.
Project description:FUS is a primarily nuclear RNA-binding protein with important roles in RNA processing and transport. FUS mutations disrupting its nuclear localization characterize a subset of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS-FUS) patients, through an unidentified pathological mechanism. FUS regulates nuclear RNA, but its role at the synapse is poorly understood. Here, we used super-resolution imaging to determine the physiological localization of extranuclear, neuronal FUS and found it predominantly near the vesicle reserve pool of presynaptic sites. Using CLIP-seq on synaptoneurosome preparations, we identified synaptic RNA targets of FUS that are associated with synapse organization and plasticity. Synaptic FUS was significantly increased in a knock-in mouse model of ALS-FUS, at presymptomatic stages. Despite apparently unaltered synaptic organization, RNA-seq of synaptoneurosomes highlighted age-dependent dysregulation of glutamatergic and GABAergic synapses. Our study indicates that FUS relocalization to the synapse in early stages of ALS-FUS results in synaptic impairment, potentially representing an initial trigger of neurodegeneration.