Ο μεταγραφικός παράγοντας COUP-TF είναι ένας ορφανός πυρηνικός υποδοχέας, ο οποίος είναι πολύ σημαντικός κατά την εμβρυική ανάπτυξη. Στην παρούσα εργασία επιχειρήθηκε η μελέτη του φυσιολογικού ρόλου του COUP-TFII των θηλαστικών κατά την αναγέννηση του σκελετικού μυός, χρησιμοποιώντας ως μοντέλο διαφοροποίησης τη μυοβλαστική σειρά ποντικού C2C12, που προέρχεται από ενήλικα βλαστικά κύτταρα του ίδιου μυός. Ο mCOUP-TFII εμπλέκεται στη ρύθμιση της ανάπτυξης του καρδιαγγειακού συστήματος, της μυογένεσης και άλλων αναπτυξιακών διαδικασιών. Έχει δειχθεί ότι αναστέλλει τη διαφοροποίηση των μυοβλαστών C2C12 σε μυοσωλήνες, κυρίως μέσω καταστολής της έκφρασης των μεταγραφικών παραγόντων μυογένεσης MyoD και Myogenin. Επίσης, η έκφρασή του στους μυοβλάστες C2C12 καταστέλλεται με την έναρξη της διαφοροποίησης. Αδημοσίευτα αποτελέσματα του εργαστηρίου μας, έχουν δείξει ότι μέσω εναλλακτικού ματίσματος στο mRNA του PlCOUP-TF του αχινού προκύπτουν δύο ισομορφές του υποδοχέα που διαφέρουν ως προς ένα εξώνιο 21 αμινοξέων στην DBD. H μικρή ισομορφή είναι λειτουργικός μεταγραφικός παράγοντας και δρα ως ομοδιμερές, ενώ η μεγάλη ισομορφή και τα ετεροδιμερή των δυο ισομορφών εμφανίζουν αδυναμία πρόσδεσης στο DNA. Με αυτόν τον τρόπο, η μεγάλη ισομορφή ρυθμίζει την ποσότητα του λειτουργικού μεταγραφικού παράγοντα, δρώντας ως επικρατής κατασταλτική πρωτεΐνη. Αρχικά, μελετήθηκαν οι ιδιότητες πρόσδεσης του mCOUP-TFII και η δυνατότητα σχηματισμού ετεροδιμερών με τη μεγάλη ισομορφή του PlCOUP-TF (L.I.) μέσω δοκιμής in vitro πρόσδεσης (EMSA), δεδομένης της ικανότητας ετεροδιμερισμού του hCOUP-TFI με την ομόλογη πρωτεΐνη του αχινού. Βρέθηκε ότι ο mCOUP-TFII δύναται να προσδεθεί στο στοιχείο απόκρισης C1R με τη μορφή ομοδιμερών και έχει ικανότητα ετεροδιμερισμού με τη PlCOUP-TF L.I. Τα ομοδιμερή του mCOUP-TFII εμφάνιζαν μειούμενη πρόσδεση στο DNA, όσο αυξανόταν ο λόγος PlCOUP-TF L.I./mCOUP-TFII. Ο απώτερος στόχος της έρευνας ήταν η μελέτη του ρόλου του mCOUP-TFII στη μυϊκή διαφοροποίηση, μέσω της υπερέκφρασης της επικρατούς κατασταλτικής PlCOUP-TF L.I. σε καλλιέργειες κυττάρων C2C12. Η αρχική μας υπόθεση ήταν ότι η PlCOUP-TF L.I. δύναται να δράσει ως επικρατής κατασταλτική ισομορφή του mCOUP-TFII, μέσω σχηματισμού μη λειτουργικού ετεροδιμερούς μαζί του. Σε αυτή την περίπτωση, θα αναμενόταν η PlCOUP-TF L.I. να καταστείλει τη δράση του ενδογενούς mCOUP-TFII των κυττάρων C2C12, με αποτέλεσμα την επαγωγή της διαφοροποίησης των μυοβλαστών. Αντιθέτως, η υπερέκφραση του mCOUP-TFII, θα αναμενόταν να συντελέσει στη διατήρηση της αδιαφοροποίητης κατάστασης των μυοβλαστών. Δεν παρατηρήθηκε διαφορά στις δράσεις των δυο COUP-TFs, ωστόσο, από τα πειράματα αυτά δεν μπορεί να εξαχθεί κάποιο ασφαλές συμπέρασμα αναφορικά με το ρόλο του mCOUP-TFII στη διαφοροποίηση των μυοβλαστών και τη δυνατότητα in vivo αλληλεπίδρασης μεταξύ των δυο υποδοχέων. / The transcription factor COUP-TF is an orphan nuclear receptor, which is very important during embryonic development. In the present dissertation, we attempted to study the physiological role of mammalian COUP-TFII during skeletal muscle regeneration, by use of the myoblast cell line C2C12, which originates from adult stem cells of skeletal muscle, as a model system of cell differentiation. mCOUP-TFII is involved in the regulation of cardiovascular system development, myogenesis and other developmental processes. It has been shown to inhibit the differentiation of C2C12 myoblasts to myotubes, mainly through suppression of the myogenic regulatory factors MyoD and Myogenin gene expression. Moreover, its expression in C2C12 myoblasts is suppressed at the onset of differentiation. Alternative splicing of the sea urchin PlCOUP-TF mRNA results in two isoforms, which differ by a 21 aa insertion in the DBD (unpublished data). The small isoform is a functional transcription factor that acts as a homodimer, while the large isoform and the heterodimers of the two isoforms fail to bind DNA. In this way, the large isoform regulates quantitatively the functional transcription factor, acting as dominant negative protein. Initially, by using in vitro binding assays (EMSA), we studied the binding properties of mCOUP-TFII and the possibility of forming heterodimers with the large isoform of PlCOUP-TF (L.I.), provided that hCOUP-TFI has been reported to be able to heterodimerize with the sea urchin homologue. We found that mCOUP-TFII is capable of binding the C1R response element as a homodimer and of forming heterodimers with PlCOUP-TF L.I. The binding of mCOUP-TFII homodimers has been shown to reduce as the ratio PlCOUP-TF L.I./mCOUP-TFII increases. The ultimate goal of this research, was the study of the role of mCOUP-TFII in muscle differentiation via overexpression of the dominant negative PlCOUP-TF L.I. in C2C12 cell cultures. Our initial assumption was that PlCOUP-TF L.I. is capable of acting as a dominant negative isoform of mCOUP-TFII, by forming non functional heterodimers with it. In this case, PlCOUP-TF L.I. would be expected to suppress the action of endogenous mCOUP-TFII in C2C12 cells. In contrast, overexpression of mCOUP-TFII would be expected to contribute to the maintenance of myoblasts in an undifferentiated state. We did not observe any difference in the actions of the two COUP-TFs, however, we cannot report any result regarding either the role of mCOUP-TFII in myoblast differentiation or the ability of in vivo interaction between these receptors.

A distrofia muscular de cintura 2B (LGMD2B) é uma doença neuromuscular causada pela redução ou ausência da proteína sarcolemal disferlina. A disferlina está envolvida no reparo de membrana por atuar no tráfego e fusão de vesículas após estresse mecânico e, quando deficiente, as alterações nesta via levam à degeneração progressiva e irreversível das fibras musculares. A disferlina também tem sido implicada na inflamação e na miogênese durante a degeneração e regeneração muscular. Recentemente, identificou-se um tricomplexo formado pela disferlina com duas proteínas citoplasmáticas, FAM65B e HDAC6, no início da diferenciação de mioblastos. Investigar a regulação destas interações é importante para avançar na compreensão das funções da disferlina e seu papel na função muscular. Neste estudo, a miogênese e o reparo muscular foram investigados in vivo e in vitro em modelos com deficiência de disferlina. Para estudar o processo regenerativo in vivo, utilizamos um modelo de eletroporação para induzir degeneração/regeneração no músculo distrófico levemente afetado do camundongo disferlina-deficiente SJL/J. A avaliação histopatológica e a expressão relativa dos genes Pax7, Myf5, MyoD e miogenina foram acompanhadas durante a recuperação muscular em diferentes tempos após a lesão. Além disso, investigamos os efeitos da deficiência de disferlina na expressão dos genes Fam65b e Hdac6. Observamos um curso de tempo alterado do processo de degeneração e regeneração, com notável capacidade regenerativa nos camundongos disferlina-deficientes, caracterizada por uma resposta mais rápida e eficaz nos primeiros dias após a lesão, em comparação com os camundongos normais. Além disso, Fam65b e Hdac6 foram ativados nos estágios iniciais da regeneração muscular, também com expressão mais elevada de ambos os genes no camundongo SJL/J. Esses resultados podem estar relacionados à uma possível condição pré-ativada do processo regenerativo no músculo de camundongos distróficos jovens. Para os experimentos in vitro, utilizamos células musculares humanas de pacientes com LGMD2B, com deficiência total de disferlina. A diferenciação muscular induziu a formação de miotubos mais finos e com menor frequência de núcleos por miotubo, sugerindo uma progressão retardada da formação de miotubos em células com LGMD2B. A expressão de mRNA de MYOD e FAM65B não foi aparentemente afetada pela deficiência de disferlina durante a diferenciação, enquanto HDAC6 apresentou um pico transitório após 24 horas, apenas nas células normais. Além disso, o pico da miogenina ocorreu mais cedo nas células normais. Portanto, sugerimos que a disferlina estaria menos envolvida nos eventos iniciais de formação de pequenos miotubos, mas poderia desempenhar um papel importante nos estágios posteriores de diferenciação, que envolvem crescimento e alongamento de miotubos. Estes resultados fornecem dados interessantes para investigações adicionais de como a deficiência de disferlina afeta os reguladores miogênicos durante a diferenciação. Em conjunto, nossos dados sugerem que a deficiência de disferlina provoca alterações temporais na progressão dos eventos de regeneração muscular e de miogênese. A identificação de uma possível regulação dos componentes do tricomplexo pela disferlina pode indicar novas direções para investigar esta via como um potencial alvo para terapias / Limb girdle muscular dystrophy 2B (LGMD2B) is a neuromuscular disease caused by reduction or absence of the sarcolemmal protein dysferlin. Dysferlin is involved in membrane repair by acting on vesicular traffic and fusion after mechanical stress and, when deficient, changes in this pathway lead to progressive and irreversible degeneration of muscle fibers. Dysferlin has also been implicated in inflammation and myogenesis during muscle degeneration and regeneration. Recently, a tricomplex formed by dysferlin with two cytoplasmic proteins, FAM65B and HDAC6, was identified at the earlier stages of myoblast differentiation. Investigating the regulation of these interactions is important to advance in the understanding of the functions of dysferlin and its role in muscle function. In this study, myogenesis and muscle repair were investigated in vivo and in vitro in models with dysferlin deficiency. To study this effect in the regenerative process of muscle in vivo, we used a model of electroporation inducing muscle degeneration/regeneration in the mildly affected dystrophic muscle of dysferlin-deficient SJL/J mouse. The histopathological evaluation and the relative expression of the genes Pax7, Myf5, MyoD and myogenin were accompanied during muscle recovery at different time points after injury. In addition, we investigated the effects of dysferlin deficiency in the expression of genes Fam65b and Hdac6. We observed an altered time course of the degeneration and regeneration process, with remarkable regenerative capacity in dysferlin-deficient mice, characterized by a faster and effective response in the first days after injury, as compared to normal mice. Moreover, Fam65b and Hdac6 were activated at the early stages of muscle regeneration, also with higher expression of both genes in the SJL/J mouse. These results may have been due to a possible pre-activated condition of the regenerative process in the muscle of young dystrophic mice. For the in vitro experiments, we used human muscle cells from patients with LGMD2B, with total deficiency of dysferlin. The muscular differentiation induced the formation of thinner myotubes and reduced frequency of myonuclei per myotube, suggesting a delayed progression of myotube formation in LGMD2B cells. mRNA expression of MYOD and FAM65B was not apparently affected by dysferlin deficiency during differentiation, while HDAC6 exhibited a transient peak, only in healthy cells, after 24 hours. In addition, the myogenin peak occurred earlier in healthy cells. Thus, we suggested that dysferlin would be less involved in the first events of formation of early small myotubes, but could play an important role in the later stages of differentiation, which involves myotube growth and elongation. These results provide interesting data for further investigation of how dysferlin deficiency affects myogenic regulators during differentiation. Taken together, our data suggest that dysferlin deficiency causes temporal changes in the progression of the muscle regeneration and myogenesis events. The identification of possible regulation of tricomplex components by dysferlin may indicate new directions for investigating this pathway as a potential target for therapies

La famille Tead de facteurs de transcription reconnaît l'élément MCAT trouvé dans le promoteur de gènes spécifiques au muscle. L'analyse génétique de leur fonction dans la différenciation musculaire a révélé difficile en raison de la redondance susceptible parmi les membres de la famille. Dans cette étude, nous avons utilisé le silencing siRNA médiation pour aborder le rôle des facteurs TEAD dans la différenciation des myoblastes primaire.Contrairement aux cellules C2C12 où Tead4 joue un rôle essentiel, son silence dans les myoblastes primaires a eu peu d'effet sur leur différenciation. Silence de facteurs individuels TEAD n'a eu aucun effet significatif sur la différenciation des myoblastes primaires, alorsque le silençage combinatoire a conduit à l'inhibition de leur différenciation indiquant laredondance parmi ces facteurs. Dans les cellules C2C12 aussi, combinatoire silençageTead eu des effets beaucoup plus puissants que de faire taire Tead4 seule indiquant une contribution des autres Teads dans ce processus. En intégrant Tead1 et les données Tead4ChIP-Seq avec les données d'ARN-Seq suivante combinatoire Tead1 / 4 silencieux, nous identifions ensembles distincts, mais qui se chevauchent de gènes Tead réglementés dansles deux cellules C2C12 myoblastes et primaires. Nous avons également intégré les / 4 données Tead1 ChIP-seq avec des ensembles de données publiques sur Myog et MYOD1ChIP-Seq et chromatine modifications à identifier une série d'éléments de régulation actifsliés par des facteurs TEAD seul ou avec Myog et MYOD1. Ces données disséquer les fonctions spécifiques et combinatoires de ces facteurs de transcription dans les réseaux derégulation de le differentiation musculaire. / The Tead family of transcription factors recognise the MCAT element found in thepromoters of muscle-specific genes. Genetic analysis of their function in muscledifferentiation has proved elusive likely due to redundancy amongst the family members.We previously used shRNA-mediated silencing to show that loss of Tead4 function resultedin abnormal differentiation characterised by the formation of shortened myotubes. ChIP-chipcoupled to RNA-seq data identified a set of potential target genes that are either activatedor repressed by Tead4 during differentiation. In this study, we have used siRNA-mediatedsilencing to address the role of the Tead factors in primary myoblast differentiation. Incontrast to C2C12 cells where Tead4 plays a critical role, its silencing in primary myoblastshad little effect on their differentiation. Silencing of individual Tead factors had no significanteffect on primary myoblast differentiation, whereas combinatorial silencing led to inhibitionof their differentiation indicating redundancy amongst these factors. In C2C12 cells also,combinatorial Tead silencing had much more potent effects than silencing of Tead4 aloneindicating a contribution of other Teads in this process. By integrating Tead1 and Tead4ChIP-seq data with RNA-seq data following combinatorial Tead1/4 silencing, we identifydistinct but overlapping sets of Tead regulated genes in both C2C12 cells and primarymyoblasts. We also integrated the Tead1/4 ChIP-seq data with public data sets on Myogand Myod1 ChIP-seq and chromatin modifications to identify a series of active regulatoryelements bound by Tead factors alone or together with Myog and Myod1. These datadissect the specific and combinatorial functions of these transcription factors in muscledifferentiation regulatory networks.

Nkx2.5 is a cardiac transcription factor that plays a critical role in heart development. In humans, heterozygous mutations in the NKX2.5 gene result in congenital heart defects (CHDs), but the molecular mechanisms by which these mutations cause the defects are still unknown. NKX2.5 R142C is a mutation that is found to be associated with atrial septal defect and atrioventricular block in 13 patients from one family. The R142C mutation is located within both the DNA-binding domain and the nuclear localization sequence of NKX2.5 protein. The pathogenesis of CHDs in humans with R142C point mutation is not well understood. Also, a previous study in our laboratory has identified Mypt1/PP1 as a novel interacting partner of Nkx2.5 in stem cells during cardiomyogenesis. Nkx2.5 has a PP1-binding consensus sequence RVxF located in the N-terminus of the homeodomain. Notably, the PP1-binding sequence, RVxF, is mutated from arginine to cysteine in patients with the R142C heterozygous mutation. However, the ability of the R142C mutation to bind to the Mypt1/PP1 complex has not been investigated yet. The following thesis addresses the functional deficit associated with R142C by utilizing a combination of in vitro, and in vivo models. It also addresses the interaction of Mypt1/PP1 with the R142C mutation. We have generated a heterozygous mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC) line, harboring the murine homologue (R141C) of the human mutation R142C in Nkx2.5 gene. We show reduced cardiomyogenesis and impaired subcellular localization of Nkx2.5 protein in Nkx2.5R141C/+ mESCs. Gene expression profiling of Nkx2.5R141C/+ mESCs revealed a global misregulation of genes important for heart development and identified putative direct target genes of Nkx2.5 that are affected by the R141C heterozygous mutation. We also generated a mouse model harboring the human mutation R142C. We show that the Nkx2.5R141C/R141C homozygous embryos are developmentally arrested around E10.5 with delayed heart morphogenesis. Moreover, Nkx2.5R141C/+ newborn mice are grossly normal but show variable cardiac defects and downregulation of ion channel genes that later cause AV block in adult mice. Finally, we show that the R141C mutant binds to the Mypt1/PP1 complex but is not inhibited or translocated to the perinuclear region in the presence of Mypt1/PP1 as the WT Nkx2.5 is.

RNA interference (RNAi) is an important pathway that regulates gene expression in several organisms. The role of RNAi in post-transcriptional gene silencing in the cytoplasm is well characterized. In contrast, the role of RNAi components in the nucleus remains to be elucidated. Previous reports have indicated that RNAi components (Dicer and Argonaute proteins) and small RNAs act in the nucleus to regulate various pathways including heterochromatin formation, transposable elements repression, RNA Pol II processivity and alternative splicing. Nuclear Ago1 and Dicer have also been found to associate with active promoters and enhancers in mammalian cells, however their functional roles and mechanisms remain elusive. In this work, I investigated the functional role of nuclear RNAi components in gene expression regulation during skeletal muscle differentiation. To address this question, I undertook genomic and biochemical approaches applied to myogenic cells (C2C12) as a model system. I found that Ago1 and Dicer are present in the nucleus of C2C12 cells and expressed during differentiation. Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) coupled with high throughput sequencing and quantitative real-time PCR indicate that Ago1 and Dicer are enriched at promoters and enhancer regions of myogenic genes. Interestingly, I found that depletion of Ago1 and Dicer reduces enhancer RNAs (eRNAs) levels at enhancer regions and expression of MyoD during differentiation. I observed that loss of Ago1 impacts differentiation, whereas, loss of Dicer leads to cell death and has severe effects on C2C12 cells. Moreover, using Chromosome Conformation Capture (3C), I revealed that Ago1 is involved in enhancer-promoter interaction at MyoD locus. The knockdown of Ago1 destabilizes these interactions and decreases the expression of MyoD. Finally, I demonstrated that Ago1 binds to eRNAs and interacts with CBP Acetyl-transferase in the nucleus of myotube cells. Ago1 depletion leads to loss of eRNA-CBP interaction and consequent impairment of CBP acetyltransferase activity and failure of MyoD mediated activation of the myogenic program. Taken together, these finding indicate that nuclear Ago1 together with eRNAs and CBP regulates MyoD expression by stimulating histone acetylation during differentiation. This study uncovered a novel function of chromatin associated Ago1 in gene expression regulation during mammalian skeletal muscle differentiation.

Considerando-se que o papel das proteínas de choque térmico (HSPs) na melhoria da resposta regenerativa da musculatura esquelética de camundongos idosos ainda não é bem conhecido, e que o tratamento com O-(3-piperidino-2-hydroxy-1-propyl) nicotinic amidoxime (BGP-15), um indutor de HSPs, atenua a fibrose muscular em animais com Distrofia de Duchenne, a hiperexpressão de HSPs no músculo esquelético através do tratamento com BGP-15 e do uso de camundongos transgênicos que hiperexpressam a proteína de choque térmico 70 kDa induzível (HSP70) poderia melhorar o processo regenerativo muscular por meio da atenuação da fibrose do tecido muscular em regeneração de animais idosos. Portanto, o objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a influência das HSPs na resposta regenerativa muscular em camundongos idosos através da análise dos efeitos do tratamento com o fármaco BGP-15 e da hiperexpressão da HSP70 induzida por transgenia em aspectos estruturais, celulares, moleculares e funcionais. Em 10 dias após a criolesão de músculos tibialis anterior (TA), o tratamento com BGP-15 (15 mg/kg) atenuou a sarcopenia e a redução do tamanho das fibras musculares em regeneração de camundongos idosos, e induziu a recuperação da densidade de área do tecido conjuntivo em músculos não lesados de camundongos idosos, e da expressão de FGF em músculos lesados de camundongos idosos. Além disso, o BGP-15 proporcionou atenuação da queda da força do músculo extensor digitorum longus em regeneração (EDL) após lesão em camundongos jovens. Além do efeito benéfico do BGP-15 em atenuar a sarcopenia, este fármaco (1μM) também atenuou a perda de miotubos C2C12 expostos às citocinas inflamatórias interferon-γ e TNF-α Houve prevenção do déficit na diferenciação inicial e tardia de mioblastos oriundos de animais idosos que hiperexpressam HSP70. Em paralelo, verificamos que o silenciamento de HSP70 em mioblastos C2C12 acarreta na redução da expressão do gene MyoD e do miR-326 no início do processo de diferenciação muscular. Portanto, nossos resultados demonstram que a hiperexpressão de HSPs, induzida por BGP-15, melhora a regeneração muscular em camundongos idosos, pois acelera a recuperação do tamanho da fibra muscular em regeneração. Experimentos in vitro sugerem que esse efeito é mediado pela atenuação do déficit na diferenciação de células precursoras miogênicas. Paralelamente, este trabalho demonstra que a HSP70 participa do início da diferenciação muscular por meio de mecanismo envolvendo MyoD e o miR-326. Além do efeito benéfico do indutor de HSPs, BGP-15, sobre a regeneração muscular de animais idosos, este atenuou a sarcopenia e a perda de miotubos expostos ao modelo de atrofia muscular in vitro induzido por interferon-γ e TNF-α. Este último efeito é mediado pela redução na expressão de Atrogin-1. / Considering that the role of heat shock proteins (HSPs) on the skeletal muscle regenerative response of aged mice is still not well known, and that the treatment with O- (3-piperidino-2-hydroxy-1-propyl ) nicotinic amidoxime (BGP-15), an HSP inducer, attenuates muscle fibrosis in animals with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy; the overexpression of HSPs in skeletal muscle induced by BGP-15 treatment and the use of inducible 70 kDa heat shock protein (HSP70) overexpressing transgenic mice could improve the muscle regenerative process through attenuation of fibrosis of regenerating muscle tissue in old mice. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of HSPs on muscle regenerative response in aged mice by analyzing the effects of BGP-15 treatment and HSP70 overexpression induced by transgenesis in structural, cellular, molecular and functional aspects of regenerating muscles from aged mice. At 10 days after cryolesion of the tibialis anterior (TA), BGP-15 treatment (15 mg / kg) attenuated sarcopenia, reduced the cross sectional area of regenerating myofiber from aged mice and recovered the connective tissue density and the expression of FGF in injured muscles from aged mice. Moreover, BGP-15 attenuated the force decrease in extensor digitorum longus (EDL) after injury in young mice. In addition to the beneficial effect of BGP-15 on attenuation of sarcopenia, this drug (1μM) also attenuated the loss of C2C12 myotubes exposed to the inflammatory cytokines interferon-γ and TNF-α. There was a prevention of the deficit in the initial and late differentiation of myoblasts from aged animals that overexpress HSP70. In parallel, we observed that the silencing of HSP70 in C2C12 myoblasts reduced the gene expression of MyoD and miR-326 at the beginning of the muscle differentiation process. Therefore, our results suggest that the overexpression of HSPs improves muscle regeneration in aged mice, since it accelerates the size recovery of regenerating myofibers. This effect is mediated by the attenuation of the deficit in the differentiation of myogenic precursor cells. In parallel, we demonstrated that HSP70 participates in the beginning of muscle differentiation probably through a mechanism mediated by MyoD and miR-326. In addition to the beneficial effect of the HSP inducer BGP-15 on muscle regeneration of aged animals, it attenuated sarcopenia and loss of myotubes exposed to interferon-γ and TNF-α. This latter effect is mediated by the reduction of Atrogin-1 expression.

Chez les eucaryotes, l’expression des gènes dépend en partie du degré de compaction de la chromatine. La structure chromatinienne est régulée par des marques dites épigénétiques,telles que les modifications post-traductionnelles des protéines structurelles de la chromatine, les histones. Ainsi, la méthylation de la lysine 9 de l’histone H3 (H3K9) sur le promoteur des gènes est essentiellement associée à la répression de la transcription. H3K9 est méthylée par différentes enzymes appelées lysine méthyltransférases (KMTs). L’objectif principal de mon projet de thèse a été de mieux comprendre le rôle de principales KMTs de H3K9, que sontG9a, GLP, Suv39h1 et SETDB1, dans la régulation de l’équilibre entre prolifération et différenciation terminale. Pour cela, j’ai utilisé le modèle de différenciation terminale de cellules du muscle squelettique. En effet, durant la différenciation terminale, les myoblastes arrêtent de proliférer et fusionnent entre eux pour former de longues cellules multi nucléées que sont les myotubes. Ce processus implique, d’une part, l’expression des gènes de différenciation musculaire et, d’autre part, la répression irréversible des gènes associés à la prolifération cellulaire. L’introduction bibliographique de ce travail de thèse est séparée en trois chapitres. Le premier chapitre porte sur la chromatine et ses modifications post-traductionnelles. Le second s’attache à décrire les rôles de la méthylation de H3K9 et, en particulier, des quatre KMTs sur lesquelles j’ai travaillé durant ma thèse : G9a, GLP, SETDB1 et Suv39h1. Dans le troisième chapitre, je présente le modèle de la différenciation terminale du muscle squelettique. Dans la partie "Résultats", je décris deux des principales études que j’ai menées durant ma thèse. La première porte sur les rôles antagonistes de G9a et GLP. La seconde porte sur le rôle de SETDB1 durant la différenciation musculaire. Les résultats que j’ai obtenus sont discutés dans cette partie. Je conclus ce manuscrit en discutant mes résultats de manière plus générale et en proposant des perspectives à long terme. Enfin, une annexe présentera les autres articles de recherche auxquels j’ai participé pendant ma thèse. / In eukaryotes, gene expression partly relies on chromatin compaction degree. Chromatin status is controlled by epigenetic marks, such as histones (chromatin structural proteins) posttranslational modifications. As an example, histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) methylation on gene promoters is mainly associated with transcriptional repression. H3K9 is methylated by several enzymes called lysine methyltransferases (KMTs). The aim of my thesis project was to understand the role of the H3K9 KMTs, G9a, GLP, Suv39h1 and SETDB1 in regulating the balance between proliferation and terminal differentiation. For this purpose, I used skeletal muscle terminal differentiation as model. Upon muscle terminal differentiation, myoblasts exit, in an irreversible way, from the cell cycle and under go differentiation where cells fusion and form myotubes. During this process, cell cycle genes are permanently silenced and muscle specific genes are activated. Thesis introduction is divided into three chapters. The first chapter focuses on chromatin and post-translational modifications. The second chapter describes H3K9 methylation characteristics and the role of the four KMTs that I studied during my thesis project: G9a,GLP, Suv39h1 and SETDB1. In the third chapter, the skeletal muscle terminal differentiation model is described in details. Results section reports my two major studies outcomes and their discussion. The first concerns the antagonistic roles of G9a and GLP regarding the muscle terminal differentiation and the second focuses on the role of SETDB1 during muscle differentiation. Finally, I conclude this manuscript by a plainer discussion followed by long term perspectives and an appendix presents other research articles, in which I collaborated during my PhD.

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A proteína eIF5A apresenta um resíduo exclusivo de aminoácido chamado hipusina formado por modificação pós-traducional envolvendo espermidina como substrato. Neste estudo, observamos que a expressão de eIF5A é intensificada ao longo da diferenciação de células-tronco progenitoras de fibras musculares (células satélites) e que a inibição da hipusinação com GC7 bloqueia a diferenciação. Associado a esse bloqueio encontramos aumento do consumo de glicose e produção de lactato, diminuição da descarboxilação de glicose e palmitato, redução da proliferação celular e alteração do perfil traducional, efeitos que podem estar envolvidos na inibição do programa de diferenciação. Em seguida, o músculo tibial anterior de ratos foram criolesados e após severa supressão da expressão de eIF5A (período agudo de lesão) a mesma foi retomada ao longo da regeneração, chegando a quantidades superiores ao encontrado em músculos não lesados. Verificamos que a L-arginina, um supressor parcial do fenótipo distrófico e precursor de espermidina, reverte parcialmente o efeito de GC7. / eIF5A protein contains an exclusive amino acid residue named hypusine produced by a post-translational modification involving spermidine as substrate. In this study, we observed that eIF5A expression is raised during muscle fiber stem cells (satellite cells) differentiation and the hypusination inhibition by GC7 abolished the differentiation process. In association with this blockage, an increase in glucose consumption and lactate production, a decrease in glucose and palmitate decarboxylation, a reduction in cell proliferation and an alteration in translational profile were observed. These changes may be involved in the inhibition of the differentiation induced by GC7. The rat tibialis anterior muscle was injured and a marked reduction of eIF5A expression (acute injury period) was found. The expression of eIF5A was reestablished during regeneration, reaching higher levels than that observed in non injured muscle. We also verified that L-arginine, a partial suppressor of muscle dystrophic phenotype condition and precursor of spermidine, partially abolished the GC7 effects.

A proteína eIF5A apresenta um resíduo exclusivo de aminoácido chamado hipusina formado por modificação pós-traducional envolvendo espermidina como substrato. Neste estudo, observamos que a expressão de eIF5A é intensificada ao longo da diferenciação de células-tronco progenitoras de fibras musculares (células satélites) e que a inibição da hipusinação com GC7 bloqueia a diferenciação. Associado a esse bloqueio encontramos aumento do consumo de glicose e produção de lactato, diminuição da descarboxilação de glicose e palmitato, redução da proliferação celular e alteração do perfil traducional, efeitos que podem estar envolvidos na inibição do programa de diferenciação. Em seguida, o músculo tibial anterior de ratos foram criolesados e após severa supressão da expressão de eIF5A (período agudo de lesão) a mesma foi retomada ao longo da regeneração, chegando a quantidades superiores ao encontrado em músculos não lesados. Verificamos que a L-arginina, um supressor parcial do fenótipo distrófico e precursor de espermidina, reverte parcialmente o efeito de GC7. / eIF5A protein contains an exclusive amino acid residue named hypusine produced by a post-translational modification involving spermidine as substrate. In this study, we observed that eIF5A expression is raised during muscle fiber stem cells (satellite cells) differentiation and the hypusination inhibition by GC7 abolished the differentiation process. In association with this blockage, an increase in glucose consumption and lactate production, a decrease in glucose and palmitate decarboxylation, a reduction in cell proliferation and an alteration in translational profile were observed. These changes may be involved in the inhibition of the differentiation induced by GC7. The rat tibialis anterior muscle was injured and a marked reduction of eIF5A expression (acute injury period) was found. The expression of eIF5A was reestablished during regeneration, reaching higher levels than that observed in non injured muscle. We also verified that L-arginine, a partial suppressor of muscle dystrophic phenotype condition and precursor of spermidine, partially abolished the GC7 effects.