Defining the regulatory networks for muscle development.
The formation of skeletal muscle during vertebrate embryogenesis requires commitment of mesodermal precursor cells to the skeletal muscle lineage, withdrawal of myoblasts from the cell cycle, and transcriptional activation of dozens of muscle structural genes. The myogenic basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) factors - MyoD, myogenin, Myf5, and MRF4 - act at multiple points in the myogenic lineage to establish myoblast identity and to control terminal differentiation. Recent studies have begun to define the inductive mechanisms that regulate myogenic bHLH gene expression and muscle cell determination in the embryo. Myogenic bHLH factors interact with components of the cell cycle machinery to control withdrawal from the cell cycle and act combinatorially with other transcription factors to induce skeletal muscle transcription. Elucidation of these aspects of the myogenic program is leading to a detailed understanding of the regulatory circuits controlling muscle development.
Molkentin
J D
JD
Hamon Center for Basic Research in Cancer, University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, 75235-9148, USA.
Olson
E N
EN
D000818:Animals; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D002453:Cell Cycle; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005796:Genes; D018257:Helix-Loop-Helix Motifs / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D064326:MEF2 Transcription Factors; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009132:Muscles / Q000196:embryology*; D018006:Myogenic Regulatory Factors; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D064326:MEF2 Transcription Factors; D018006:Myogenic Regulatory Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors