Redefining the Genetic Hierarchies Controlling Skeletal Myogenesis: Pax-3 and Myf-5 Act Upstream of MyoD

AbstractWe analyzed Pax-3 (splotch)Myf-5 (targeted with nlacZ), and splotch/Myf-5 homozygous mutant mice to investigate the roles that these genes play in programming skeletal myogenesis. In splotch and Myf-5 homozygous embryos, myogenic progenitor cell perturbations and early muscle defects are distinct. Remarkablysplotch/Myf-5 double homozygotes have a dramatic phenotype not seen in the individual mutants: body muscles are absent. MyoD does not rescue this double mutant phenotype since activation of this gene proves to be dependent on either Pax-3 or Myf-5. ThereforePax-3 and Myf-5 define two distinct myogenic pathways, and MyoD acts genetically downstream of these genes for myogenesis in the body. This genetic hierarchy does not appear to operate for head muscle formation

A Pax3/Dmrt2/Myf5 Regulatory Cascade Functions at the Onset of Myogenesis

All skeletal muscle progenitor cells in the body derive from the dermomyotome, the dorsal epithelial domain of developing somites. These multipotent stem cells express Pax3, and this expression is maintained in the myogenic lineage where Pax3 plays an important role. Identification of Pax3 targets is therefore important for understanding the mechanisms that underlie the onset of myogenesis. In a microarray screen of Pax3-GFP sorted cells, with analysis on Pax3 gain and loss of function genetic backgrounds, we identify Dmrt2, expressed in the dermomyotome, as a Pax3 target. In vitro gel shift analysis and chromatin immunoprecipitation with in vivo extracts show that Pax3 binds to a conserved 286 bp sequence, situated at −18 kb from Dmrt2. This sequence directs reporter transgene expression to the somite, and this is severely affected when the Pax3 site is mutated in the context of the locus. In Dmrt2 mutant embryos, somite maturation is perturbed and the skeletal muscle of the myotome is abnormal. We now report that the onset of myogenesis is also affected. This depends on activation, in the epaxial dermomyotome, of the myogenic determination gene, Myf5, through its early epaxial enhancer. This sequence contains sites that bind Dmrt2, which belongs to the DM class of DNA–binding proteins. Mutation of these sites compromises activity of the enhancer in transgenic embryos where the reporter transgene is under the control of the Myf5 epaxial enhancer. Transactivation of this site by Dmrt2 is demonstrated in vitro, and conditional overexpression of Dmrt2 in Pax3 expressing cells in the somite confirms the role of this factor in the activation of Myf5. These results reveal a novel genetic network, comprising a Pax3/Dmrt2/Myf5 regulatory cascade that operates in stem cells of the epaxial dermomyotome to initiate skeletal muscle formation

Pax3 and Pax7 have distinct and overlapping functions in adult muscle progenitor cells

The growth and repair of skeletal muscle after birth depends on satellite cells that are characterized by the expression of Pax7. We show that Pax3, the paralogue of Pax7, is also present in both quiescent and activated satellite cells in many skeletal muscles. Dominant-negative forms of both Pax3 and -7 repress MyoD, but do not interfere with the expression of the other myogenic determination factor, Myf5, which, together with Pax3/7, regulates the myogenic differentiation of these cells. In Pax7 mutants, satellite cells are progressively lost in both Pax3-expressing and -nonexpressing muscles. We show that this is caused by satellite cell death, with effects on the cell cycle. Manipulation of the dominant-negative forms of these factors in satellite cell cultures demonstrates that Pax3 cannot replace the antiapoptotic function of Pax7. These findings underline the importance of cell survival in controlling the stem cell populations of adult tissues and demonstrate a role for upstream factors in this context

Analysis of a key regulatory region upstream of the Myf5 gene reveals multiple phases of myogenesis, orchestrated at each site by a combination of elements dispersed throughout the locus

Myf5 is the first myogenic regulatory factor to be expressed in the mouse embryo and it determines the entry of cells into the skeletal muscle programme. A region situated between -58 kb and -48 kb from the gene directs Myf5 transcription at sites where muscles will form. We now show that this region consists of a number of distinct regulatory elements that specifically target sites of myogenesis in the somite, limbs and hypoglossal cord, and also sites of Myf5 transcription in the central nervous system. Deletion of these sequences in the context of the locus shows that elements within the region are essential, and also reveals the combinatorial complexity of the transcriptional regulation of Myf5. Both within the -58 kb to -48 kb region and elsewhere in the locus, multiple sequences are present that direct transcription in subdomains of a single site during development, thus revealing distinct phases of myogenesis when subpopulations of progenitor cells enter the programme of skeletal muscle differentiation.This work in M.B.'s laboratory was supported by the Pasteur Institute and the CNRS and by grants from the ACI Integrative Biology Programme of the MJER, the AFM and the European Community (QLK3-CT-99/02). J.H. benefited from fellowships from ARC and the AFM, L.B. from funding from the MJER, and T.C. from fellowships from NIH and the AFM. The work in P.R.'s laboratory was supported by a grant from The Institute of Cancer Research.Peer reviewe

La Souris comme modèle d’étude de la morphogenèse du cœur chez les Mammifères : croissance et lignage des myocytes

Par analyse clonale rétrospective basée sur le traceur génétique nlaacZ, nous avons obtenu des clones aléatoires, observés à différents stades de développement du myocarde murin. La distribution de ces clones en amas suggère pour la première fois, que les cellules destinées à former le myocarde suivent deux phases de croissance. La première phase est disper- sive et polarisée parallèlement à l’axe du tube cardiaque. La deuxième phase est cohérente et polarisée de façon spécifique dans différentes régions du cœur. Ces propriétés de croissance sont corrélées à la naissance de formes géométriques. Ceci souligne que la morphogenèse du cœur est liée à des mécanismes de prolifération cellulaire contrôlée. D’autre part, la distribution des clones dans les ventricules met en évidence une ségrégation précoce des lignages des cellules des ventricules droit et gauche. Ce résultat est en accord avec l’existence de deux populations de précurseurs cardiaques, ou champs cardiaques primaire (ou postérieur) et secondaire (ou antérieur)

Divergent functions of murine Pax3 and Pax7 in limb muscle development

Pax genes encode evolutionarily conserved transcription factors that play critical roles in development. Pax3 and Pax7 constitute one of the four Pax subfamilies. Despite partially overlapping expression domains, mouse mutations for Pax3 and Pax7 have very different consequences. To investigate the mechanism of these contrasting phenotypes, we replaced Pax3 by Pax7 by using gene targeting in the mouse. Pax7 can substitute for Pax3 function in dorsal neural tube, neural crest cell, and somite development, but not in the formation of muscles involving long-range migration of muscle progenitor cells. In limbs in which Pax3 is replaced by Pax7, the severity of the muscle phenotype increases as the number of Pax7 replacement alleles is reduced, with the forelimb more affected than the hindlimb. We show that this hypomorphic activity of Pax7 is due to defects in delamination, migration, and proliferation of muscle precursor cells with inefficient activation of c-met in the hypaxial domain of the somite. Despite this, overall muscle patterning is retained. We conclude that functions already prefigured by the single Pax3/7 gene present before vertebrate radiation are fulfilled by Pax7 as well as Pax3, whereas the role of Pax3 in appendicular muscle formation has diverged, reflecting the more recent origin of this mode of myogenesis

La Souris comme modèle d’étude de la morphogenèse du cœur chez les Mammifères : croissance et lignage des myocytes

International audienceIn order to follow cardiac precursor cells, we have adopted a retrospective clonal approach, based on the nlaacZ genetic label. Random clones were generated and observed at different developmental stages in murine myocardium. The distribution of these clones in clusters suggest for the first time that cells fated to form myocardium proliferate in two steps. The first growth phase, before E8.5, is dispersive and polarised along the axis of the primitive cardiac tube, contributing to its elongation. The second growth phase is coherent and polarised differentially in different cardiac subregions. Interestingly, this can be correlated with production of geometrical forms (dilatation of a sphere, enlargement of a tube), showing the relation between heart morphogenesis and the controlled proliferation of myocardial cells. The restricted distribution of clones to the right or left ventricule was also investigated with the goal of establishing the time at which cardiac chamber identity emerges. Right and left ventricular lineages appear to segregate early, in agreement with the existence of two populations of cardiac precursors, the so-called primary (or posterior) and secondary (or anterior) heart fields.Par analyse clonale rétrospective basée sur le traceur génétique nlaacZ, nous avons obtenu des clones aléatoires, observés à différents stades de développement du myocarde murin. La distribution de ces clones en amas suggère pour la première fois, que les cellules destinées à former le myocarde suivent deux phases de croissance. La première phase est disper- sive et polarisée parallèlement à l’axe du tube cardiaque. La deuxième phase est cohérente et polarisée de façon spécifique dans différentes régions du cœur. Ces propriétés de croissance sont corrélées à la naissance de formes géométriques. Ceci souligne que la morphogenèse du cœur est liée à des mécanismes de prolifération cellulaire contrôlée. D’autre part, la distribution des clones dans les ventricules met en évidence une ségrégation précoce des lignages des cellules des ventricules droit et gauche. Ce résultat est en accord avec l’existence de deux populations de précurseurs cardiaques, ou champs cardiaques primaire (ou postérieur) et secondaire (ou antérieur)

A tensile ring drives tissue flows to shape the gastrulating amniote embryo

International audienceTissue morphogenesis is driven by local cellular deformations that are powered by contractile actomyosin networks. How localized forces are transmitted across tissues to shape them at a mesoscopic scale is still unclear. Analyzing gastrulation in entire avian embryos, we show that it is driven by the graded contraction of a large-scale supracellular actomyosin ring at the margin between the embryonic and extraembryonic territories. The propagation of these forces is enabled by a fluid-like response of the epithelial embryonic disk, which depends on cell division. A simple model of fluid motion entrained by a tensile ring quantitatively captures the vortex-like "polonaise" movements that accompany the formation of the primitive streak. The geometry of the early embryo thus arises from the transmission of active forces generated along its boundary

Cell Division Drives Epithelial Cell Rearrangements during Gastrulation in Chick

International audienceDuring early embryonic development, cells are organized as cohesive epithelial sheets that are continuously growing and remodeled without losing their integrity, giving rise to a wide array of tissue shapes. Here, using live imaging in chick embryo, we investigate how epithelial cells rearrange during gastrulation. We find that cell division is a major rearrangement driver that powers dramatic epithelial cell intercalation events. We show that these cell division-mediated intercalations, which represent the majority of epithelial rearrangements within the early embryo, are absolutely necessary for the spatial patterning of gastrulation movements. Furthermore, we demonstrate that these intercalation events result from overall low cortical actomyosin accumulation within the epithelial cells of the embryo, which enables dividing cells to remodel junctions in their vicinity. These findings uncover a role for cell division as coordinator of epithelial growth and remodeling that might underlie various developmental, homeostatic, or pathological processes in amniotes