Hoffmann, R. A wiki for the life sciences where authorship matters. Nature Genetics (2008)

Editor

Personal info

View

About

Terms

Javascript disabled

Please enable Javascript support in your browser to use this application.

Instructions on how to enable JavaScript on different browsers can be found here: http://www.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=23852.

[edit this page]

Thompson, A.L. et al.

Thompson, Filatov, Chen, Porter, Li, Rich, Kraner,

A selective role for MRF4 in innervated adult skeletal muscle: Na(V) 1.4 Na+ channel expression is reduced in MRF4-null mice.

The factors that regulate transcription and spatial expression of the adult skeletal muscle Na+ channel, Na(V) 1.4, are poorly understood. Here we tested the role of the transcription factor MRF4, one of four basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) factors expressed in skeletal muscle, in regulation of the Na(V) 1.4 Na+ channel. Overexpression of MRF4 in C2C12 muscle cells dramatically elevated Na(V) 1.4 reporter gene expression, indicating that MRF4 is more efficacious than the other bHLH factors expressed at high levels endogenously in these cells. In vivo, MRF4 protein was found both in extrajunctional and subsynaptic muscle nuclei. To test the importance of MRF4 in Na(V) 1.4 gene regulation in vivo, we examined Na+ channel expression in MRF4-null mice using several techniques, including Western blotting, immunocytochemistry, and electrophysiological recording. By all methods, we found that expression of the Na(V) 1.4 Na+ channel was substantially reduced in MRF4-null mice, both in the surface membrane and at neuromuscular junctions. In contrast, expression of the acetylcholine receptor, and in particular its alpha subunit, was unchanged, indicating that MRF4 regulation of Na+ channel expression was selective. Expression of the bHLH factors myf-5, MyoD, and myogenin was increased in MRF4-null mice, but these factors were not able to fully maintain Na(V) 1.4 Na+ channel expression either in the extrajunctional membrane or at the synapse. Thus, MRF4 appears to play a novel and selective role in adult muscle.[1]

References

A selective role for MRF4 in innervated adult skeletal muscle: Na(V) 1.4 Na+ channel expression is reduced in MRF4-null mice. Thompson, A.L., Filatov, G., Chen, C., Porter, I., Li, Y., Rich, M.M., Kraner, S.D. Gene Expr. (2005) [Pubmed]

Annotations and hyperlinks in this abstract are from individual authors of WikiGenes or automatically generated by the WikiGenes Data Mining Engine. The abstract is from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.About WikiGenes Open Access Licence Privacy Policy Terms of Use apsburg

The world's first wiki where authorship really matters (Nature Genetics, 2008). Due credit and reputation for authors. Imagine a global collaborative knowledge base for original thoughts. Search thousands of articles and collaborate with scientists around the globe.