Project description:Here, we use a transcriptomic apprach to identify genes associated with variation in muscle contractile physiology differences among different muscles of the same individual.
Project description:Reversible epsilon-amino acetylation of lysine residues regulates transcription as well as metabolic flux; however, roles for specific lysine acetyltransferases in skeletal muscle physiology and function remain enigmatic. In this study, we investigated the role of the homologous acetyltransferases p300 and CBP in skeletal muscle transcriptional homeostasis and physiology in adult mice. Mice with skeletal muscle-specific and inducible knockout of p300 and/or CBP were generated by crossing mice with a tamoxifen-inducible Cre recombinase expressed under the human alpha-skeletal actin (HSA) promoter with mice harboring LoxP sites flanking exon 9 of both the Ep300 and Crebbp genes. Knockout was induced at 13-15 weeks of age via oral gavage of tamoxifen. We demonstrate that loss of both p300 and CBP in adult mouse skeletal muscle severely impairs contractile function and results in lethality within one week – a phenotype that is reversed by the presence of a single allele of either p300 or CBP. The loss of muscle function in p300/CBP double knockout mice is paralleled by substantial transcriptional alterations in gene networks central to skeletal muscle contraction and structural integrity. Changes in protein expression patterns, determined by 10-plex TMT labeling, were linked to impaired muscle function also manifest within days (WT mice were compared to day 3 and day 5 knock out mice). Together, these data reveal the requirement of p300 and CBP for the control and maintenance of contractile function and transcriptional homeostasis in skeletal muscle, and ultimately, organism survival. By extension, modulating p300/CBP function holds promise for the treatment of disorders characterized by impaired contractile function in humans.
Project description:Reversible ε-amino acetylation of lysine residues regulates transcription as well as metabolic flux; however, roles for specific lysine acetyltransferases in skeletal muscle physiology and function is unknown. In this study, we investigated the role of the related acetyltransferases p300 and CBP in skeletal muscle transcriptional homeostasis and physiology in adult mice. These data reveal that p300 and CBP are required for the control and maintenance of contractile function and transcriptional homeostasis in skeletal muscle, and ultimately, organism survival.
Project description:In our study, we investigated for contractile activity-specific changes in the transcriptome in untrained and trained (after an aerobic training programme) human skeletal muscle. The second goal was to examine effect of aerobic training on gene expression in muscle at baseline (after long term training). Seven untrained males performed the one-legged knee extension exercise (for 60 min) with the same relative intensity before and after a 2 month aerobic training programme (1 h/day, 5/week). Biopsy samples were taken at rest (baseline condition, 48 h after exercise), 1 and 4 h after the one-legged exercise from m. vastus lateralis of either leg. Comparison of gene expression in exercised leg with that in non-exercised [control] leg allowed us to identify contractile activity-specific genes in both untrained and trained skeletal muscle, i.e., genes that play a key role in adapting to acute exercise, regardless of the level of fitness. RNA-sequencing (84 samples in total; ~47 million reads/sample) was performed by NextSeq 500 and HiSeq 2500 (Illumina). Two months aerobic training increased the aerobic capacity of the knee-extensor muscles (power at anaerobic threshold in the incremental one-legged and cycling tests), the maximum rate of ADP-stimulated mitochondrial respiration in permeabilized muscle fibres and amounts of oxidative phosphorylation proteins. Contractile activity-specific changes in the transcriptome in untrained and trained human skeletal muscle were revealed for the first time. After 2 month aerobic training, transcriptome responses specific for contractile activity in trained muscle substantially decreased relative to those in untrained muscle. We found out that adaptation of skeletal muscle to regular exercise is associated not only with a transient change in the transcriptome after each stress (acute exercise), but also with a marked change in baseline expression of many genes after repeated stress (e.g., long term training).
Project description:This experiment is part of the FunGenES project (FunGenES - Functional Genomics in Embryonic Stem Cells partially funded by the 6th Framework Programme of the EuropeanUnion, http://www.fungenes.org). The experiment was conducted at University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany. Goal of the experiment is a complete transcriptome profiling of contractile smooth muscle cells (SMCs) differentiated from embryonic stem cells which is crucial for the characterization of smooth muscle gene expression signatures and will contribute to defining biological and physiological processes in these cells. We have generated a transgenic embryonic stem cell line expressing both the puromycin acetyl transferase and enhanced green fluorescent protein cassettes under the control of the Acta2 promoter.This experiment allows the identification of specific biological and physiological processes in the contractile phenotype SMCs and will contribute to the understanding of these processes in early SMCs derived from embryonic stem cells.
Project description:Cardiac contractile strength is recognised as highly pH-sensitive, but less is known about the influence of pH on cardiac gene expression, which may be relevant during changes in myocardial metabolism or vascularization in development or disease. We sought evidence for pH-responsive cardiac genes and a context in which this has physiological relevance. pHLIP, a peptide-based reporter of acidity, revealed a non-uniform pH landscape in early-postnatal myocardium, dissipating in later life. pH-responsive differentially-expressed genes (pH-DEGs) were identified by transcriptomics of neonatal cardiomyocytes cultured over a range of pH. Enrichment analysis indicated “striated muscle contraction” as a pH-responsive biological process. Label-free proteomics verified fifty-four pH-responsive gene-products, including contractile elements and the adaptor protein CRIP2. Using transcriptional assays, acidity was found to inhibit p300/CBP acetylase activity and, as its functional readout, negatively affect myocardin, a co-activator of cardiac gene expression. In cultured myocytes, acid-inhibition of p300/CBP reduced H3K27 acetylation, as demonstrated by chromatin immunoprecipitation. H3K27ac levels were more strongly reduced at promoters of acid-downregulated DEGs, suggesting an epigenetic mechanism of pH-sensitive gene expression. By tandem cytoplasmic/nuclear pH imaging, the cardiac nucleus was found to exercise a degree of control over its pH through Na+/H+ exchangers at the nuclear envelope. Thus, we describe how extracellular pH signals gain access to the nucleus and regulate the expression of a subset of cardiac genes, notably those coding for contractile proteins and Crip2. Acting as a proxy of a well-perfused myocardium, alkaline conditions are permissive for expressing genes related to the contractile apparatus.
Project description:Cardiac contractile strength is recognised as highly pH-sensitive, but less is known about the influence of pH on cardiac gene expression, which may be relevant during changes in myocardial metabolism or vascularization in development or disease. We sought evidence for pH-responsive cardiac genes and a context in which this has physiological relevance. pHLIP, a peptide-based reporter of acidity, revealed a non-uniform pH landscape in early-postnatal myocardium, dissipating in later life. pH-responsive differentially-expressed genes (pH-DEGs) were identified by transcriptomics of neonatal cardiomyocytes cultured over a range of pH. Enrichment analysis indicated “striated muscle contraction” as a pH-responsive biological process. Label-free proteomics verified fifty-four pH-responsive gene-products, including contractile elements and the adaptor protein CRIP2. Using transcriptional assays, acidity was found to inhibit p300/CBP acetylase activity and, as its functional readout, negatively affect myocardin, a co-activator of cardiac gene expression. In cultured myocytes, acid-inhibition of p300/CBP reduced H3K27 acetylation, as demonstrated by chromatin immunoprecipitation. H3K27ac levels were more strongly reduced at promoters of acid-downregulated DEGs, suggesting an epigenetic mechanism of pH-sensitive gene expression. By tandem cytoplasmic/nuclear pH imaging, the cardiac nucleus was found to exercise a degree of control over its pH through Na+/H+ exchangers at the nuclear envelope. Thus, we describe how extracellular pH signals gain access to the nucleus and regulate the expression of a subset of cardiac genes, notably those coding for contractile proteins and Crip2. Acting as a proxy of a well-perfused myocardium, alkaline conditions are permissive for expressing genes related to the contractile apparatus.