title: The transient expression of miR-203 and its inhibiting effects on skeletal muscle cell proliferation and differentiation.
abstract: Previous studies have shown that miR-203 is a skin-specific microRNA (miRNA) with a profound role in skin cell differentiation. However, emerging microarray and deep sequencing data revealed that miR-203 is also expressed in embryonic skeletal muscle and myoblasts. In this study, we found that miR-203 was transiently upregulated in chicken embryos on days 10 to 16 (E10-E16) and was sharply downregulated and even not expressed after E16 in chicken embryonic skeletal muscle. Histological profiles and weight variations of embryo skeletal muscle revealed that miR-203 expression is correlated with muscle development. In vitro experiments showed that miR-203 exhibited downregulated expression during myoblast differentiation into myotubes. miR-203 overexpression inhibited myoblast proliferation and differentiation, whereas its loss-of-function increased myoblast proliferation and differentiation. During myogenesis, miR-203 can target and inhibit the expression of c-JUN and MEF2C, which were important for cell proliferation and muscle development, respectively. The overexpression of c-JUN significantly promoted myoblast proliferation. Conversely, knockdown of c-JUN by siRNA suppressed myoblast proliferation. In addition, the knockdown of MEF2C by siRNA significantly inhibited myoblast differentiation. Altogether, these data not only suggested that the expression of miR-203 is transitory during chicken skeletal muscle development but also showed a novel role of miR-203 in inhibiting skeletal muscle cell proliferation and differentiation by repressing c-JUN and MEF2C, respectively.
authors.affiliation: 1] Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, China [2] Department of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, China.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: 1] Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, China [2] Department of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, China.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Biomedicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, China.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: 1] Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, China [2] Department of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, China.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: 1] Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, China [2] Department of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, China.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: 1] Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, China [2] Department of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, China.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.affiliation: 1] Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, China [2] Department of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, China.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, College of Life Science, Foshan University, Foshan, Guangdong 528231, China.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: 1] Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, China [2] Department of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, China.
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.affiliation: 1] Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, China [2] Department of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, China.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002642:Chick Embryo; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015536:Down-Regulation; D064326:MEF2 Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D032446:Myoblasts / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D016755:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D064326:MEF2 Transcription Factors; D035683:MicroRNAs; D016755:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun