Myogenin, is a transcriptional activator encoded by the MYOG
gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...
.
Myogenin is a muscle-specific
basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH)
transcription factor
In molecular biology, a transcription factor (TF) (or sequence-specific DNA-binding factor) is a protein that controls the rate of transcription of genetic information from DNA to messenger RNA, by binding to a specific DNA sequence. The f ...
involved in the coordination of
skeletal muscle
Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of m ...
development or
myogenesis
Myogenesis is the formation of skeletal muscular tissue, particularly during embryonic development.
Muscle fibers generally form through the fusion of precursor myoblasts into multinucleated fibers called ''myotubes''. In the early development o ...
and repair. Myogenin is a member of the
MyoD family of transcription factors, which also includes
MyoD
MyoD, also known as myoblast determination protein 1, is a protein in animals that plays a major role in regulating muscle differentiation. MyoD, which was discovered in the laboratory of Harold M. Weintraub, belongs to a family of proteins kno ...
,
Myf5, and
MRF4.
In mice, myogenin is essential for the development of functional skeletal muscle. Myogenin is required for the proper differentiation of most myogenic precursor cells during the process of
myogenesis
Myogenesis is the formation of skeletal muscular tissue, particularly during embryonic development.
Muscle fibers generally form through the fusion of precursor myoblasts into multinucleated fibers called ''myotubes''. In the early development o ...
. When the DNA coding for myogenin was knocked out of the mouse
genome
In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding ...
, severe skeletal muscle defects were observed. Mice lacking both copies of myogenin (
homozygous
Zygosity (the noun, zygote, is from the Greek "yoked," from "yoke") () is the degree to which both copies of a chromosome or gene have the same genetic sequence. In other words, it is the degree of similarity of the alleles in an organism.
Mo ...
-null) suffer from
perinatal lethality due to the lack of mature secondary skeletal muscle fibers throughout the body.
In cell culture, myogenin can induce myogenesis in a variety of non-muscle cell types.
Interactions
Myogenin has been shown to
interact
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with:
*
MDFI
MyoD family inhibitor is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''MDFI'' gene.
Function
This protein is a transcription factor that negatively regulates other myogenic family proteins. Studies of the mouse homolog, I-mf, show that it interf ...
,
*
POLR2C
DNA-directed RNA polymerase II subunit RPB3 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''POLR2C'' gene.
Function
This gene encodes the third largest subunit of RNA polymerase II, the polymerase responsible for synthesizing messenger RNA in ...
,
*
Serum response factor
Serum response factor, also known as SRF, is a transcription factor protein.
Function
Serum response factor is a member of the MADS (MCM1, Agamous, Deficiens, and SRF) box superfamily of transcription factors. This protein binds to the serum ...
Sp1 transcription factor
Transcription factor Sp1, also known as specificity protein 1* is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SP1 gene.
Function
The protein encoded by this gene is a zinc finger transcription factor that binds to GC-rich motifs of many pro ...
,TCF3
Transcription factor 3 (E2A immunoglobulin enhancer-binding factors E12/E47), also known as TCF3, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''TCF3'' gene. TCF3 has been shown to directly enhance Hes1 (a well-known target of Notch signaling) e ...
.
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{Transcription factors, g1
Gene expression
Human proteins