Myocyte enhancer factor 2C and its directly-interacting proteins: A review.
Myocyte enhancer factor 2C (MEF2C) is a transcription factor of MADS box family involved in the early development of several human cells including muscle (i.e., skeletal, cardiac, and smooth), neural, chondroid, immune, and endothelial cells. Dysfunction of MEF2C leads to embryo hypoplasia, disorganized myofibers and perinatal lethality. The main role of MEF2C is its regulation of muscle development. It has been reported that MEF2C-knockout mice die on embryonic day 9.5 from unnatural development of cardiovascular. The effects of MEF2C are mediated by its directly-interacting proteins; therefore, the investigation of these interactions is critical in order to clarify MEF2C's biological function. In this study, we review twenty-five proteins that directly interact with MEF2C, including nineteen proteins related to muscle development, four proteins related to neural cell development, one protein related to chondroid cell development, four proteins related to immune cell development, and two proteins related to endothelial cell development. Among these proteins, the interaction of MEF2C with MRFs is important for differentiation of developing muscle cells. MEF2C interacts with Sox18 for endothelial vessel morphogenesis. The interaction of MEF2C with Cabin1 is important for maintaining T-cell inactivation. Investigating the interactions of MEF2C and its directly-interacting proteins is not only helpful to understand of the physiological function of MEF2C, but also provides a target for future rational drug design.
Institute for Special Environmental Biophysics, Key Laboratory for Space Bioscience and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, Shaanxi, PR China.
Chen
C
Dong
Institute for Special Environmental Biophysics, Key Laboratory for Space Bioscience and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, Shaanxi, PR China.
Xue-Zhou
XZ
Yang
Institute for Special Environmental Biophysics, Key Laboratory for Space Bioscience and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, Shaanxi, PR China. Electronic address: zhangchenyan@nwpu.edu.cn.
Chen-Yan
CY
Zhang
Institute for Special Environmental Biophysics, Key Laboratory for Space Bioscience and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, Shaanxi, PR China.
Yang-Yang
YY
Liu
Institute for Special Environmental Biophysics, Key Laboratory for Space Bioscience and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, Shaanxi, PR China.
Ren-Bin
RB
Zhou
Institute for Special Environmental Biophysics, Key Laboratory for Space Bioscience and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, Shaanxi, PR China.
Qing-Di
QD
Cheng
Institute for Special Environmental Biophysics, Key Laboratory for Space Bioscience and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, Shaanxi, PR China.
Er-Kai
EK
Yan
Institute for Special Environmental Biophysics, Key Laboratory for Space Bioscience and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, Shaanxi, PR China. Electronic address: yindc@nwpu.edu.cn.
Da-Chuan
DC
Yin
D000818:Animals; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007109:Immunity; D064326:MEF2 Transcription Factors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding
D064326:MEF2 Transcription Factors
Directly-interacting protein; Function of MEF2C; MEF2C-related diseases; Myocyte enhancer factor 2C; Structure of MEF2C