期刊名称:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN:0027-8424
电子版ISSN:1091-6490
出版年度:1999
卷号:96
期号:18
页码:10218-10223
DOI:10.1073/pnas.96.18.10218
语种:English
出版社:The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要:During myogenesis, reductions in trophic factor availability signal most myoblasts to fuse, up-regulate the expression of muscle-specific genes, and form myotubes. Those cells failing to differentiate into myotubes initiate apoptosis and rapidly die. At present, the signal-transduction molecules that determine whether myoblasts should differentiate or die are largely unknown. In this report, we describe the cloning and characterization of DALP, a small LIM-only type zinc-finger protein that is induced when the intersegmental muscles (ISMs) of the moth Manduca sexta become committed to die at the end of metamorphosis. Forced expression of death-associated LIM-only protein (DALP) in Drosophila results in skeletal muscle atrophy. Ectopic expression of DALP, or its mammalian ortholog Hic-5, blocks differentiation and induces apoptosis in mouse C2C12 myoblasts. Both of these effects can be overcome by contact with normal myoblasts or by ectopic expression of the muscle-specific transcription factor MyoD. Hic-5 expression is specifically and dramatically induced in normal myoblasts that die after removal of trophic support. Taken together, these data suggest that DALP and Hic-5 act upstream of MyoD and function as phylogenetically conserved "switches" to block muscle differentiation and induce death.