Myogenin expression in facial muscle following damage to the facial nerve.
CONCLUSIONS
Gene analysis of facial muscle may be a promising way to detect denervation of facial muscle, helping to determine the prognosis of a facial palsy early in its progression.


OBJECTIVE
In the treatment of intratemporal facial palsy, early diagnosis of neural damage is important in deciding about therapeutic modalities. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the severity of facial palsy and the level of myogenin expressed in the facial muscle.


METHODS
The animals were divided into two groups, depending on whether the facial nerve was resected or compressed. Expression of myogenin mRNA was examined using real-time PCR and in situ hybridization of the facial muscle following the nerve damage.


RESULTS
Increased expression of myogenin was observed in the nerve resection group, while no such increase was seen in the nerve compression group. In situ hybridization indicated that myogenin was expressed exclusively in satellite cells around the denervated muscle fibers.
Department of Otolaryngology, Ehime University School of Medicine, Shitsukawa, To-on City, Japan.
Masato
M
Teraoka
Naohito
N
Hato
Hirotaka
H
Takahashi
Hayato
H
Komobuchi
Naoki
N
Sawai
Masahiro
M
Okada
Nobuhiro
N
Hakuba
D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005152:Facial Muscles / Q000378:metabolism*; D020220:Facial Nerve Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005158:Facial Paralysis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D008297:Male; D009121:Muscle Denervation; D018008:Myogenin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009408:Nerve Compression Syndromes; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
D018008:Myogenin; D012333:RNA, Messenger