LSD1 et PHF2 sont des déméthylases de lysines capables de déméthyler à la fois les protéines histones qui influencent l’expression génique et les protéines non histones en affectant leurs activités ou stabilités. Des approches fonctionnelles d’inactivation de Lsd1 ou Phf2 chez la souris ont démontré l’implication de ces enzymes dans l'engagement des cellules progénitrices au cours de la différenciation. La myogenèse est l'un des exemples les mieux caractérisés sur la façon dont les cellules progénitrices se multiplient et se différencient pour former un organe fonctionnel. Elle est initiée par une expression temporelle spécifique des gènes régulateurs cibles. Parmi ces facteurs, MYOD est un régulateur clé de l'engagement dans la différenciation des cellules progénitrices musculaires. Bien que l’action de MYOD au cours de la différenciation cellulaire ait été largement étudiée, peu de chose sont connus sur les événements de remodelage de la chromatine associés à l'activation de l'expression de MyoD. Parmi les régions régulatrices de l'expression de MyoD, la région Core Enhancer (CE) qui est transcrite en ARN activateur non codant (CEeRNA) a été démontrée pour contrôler l'initiation de l'expression de MyoD au cours de l'engagement de myoblastes dans la différenciation.Nous avons identifié LSD1 et PHF2 comme des activateurs clés du CE de MyoD. L'invalidation in vitro et in vivo de LSD1 ou l'inhibition de l'activité enzymatique de LSD1 empêche le recrutement de l'ARN PolII sur le CE, empêchant l’expression du CEeRNA. D’après nos résultats, l'expression forcée du CEeRNA restaure efficacement l'expression de MyoD et la fusion myoblastique en l'absence de LSD1. De plus, PHF2 interagit avec LSD1 en régulant sa stabilité protéique.En effet, l'ablation in vitro de PHF2 entraîne une dégradation massive de LSD1 et donc une absence d'expression du CEeRNA. Cependant, toutes les modifications d'histones qui ont lieu dans la région du CE lors de l'activation de la différenciation ne peuvent pas être directement attribuées à l'activité enzymatique de LSD1 ou PHF2. Ces résultats soulèvent la question de l'identité des partenaires de LSD1 et PHF2, qui co-participeraient à l'expression du CEeRNA et donc à l'engagement des myoblastes dans la différenciation cellulaire. / LSD1 and PHF2 are lysine de-methylases that can de-methylate both histone proteins, influencing gene expression and non-histone proteins, affecting their activity or stability. Functional approaches using Lsd1 or Phf2 inactivation in mouse have demonstrated the involvement of these enzymes in the engagement of progenitor cells into differentiation. One of the best-characterized examples of how progenitor cells multiply and differentiate to form functional organ is myogenesis. It is initiated by the specific timing expression of the specific regulatory genes; among these factors, MYOD is a key regulator of the engagement into differentiation of muscle progenitor cells. Although the action of MYOD during muscle differentiation has been extensively studied, still little is known about the chromatin remodeling events associated with the activation of MyoD expression. Among the regulatory regions of MyoD expression, the Core Enhancer region (CE), which transcribes for a non-coding enhancer RNA (CEeRNA), has been demonstrated to control the initiation of MyoD expression during myoblast commitment. We identified LSD1 and PHF2 as key activators of the MyoD CE. In vitro and in vivo ablation of LSD1 or inhibition of LSD1 enzymatic activity impaired the recruitment of RNA PolII on the CE, resulting in a failed expression of the CEeRNA. According to our results, forced expression of the CEeRNA efficiently rescue MyoD expression and myoblast fusion in the absence of LSD1. Moreover PHF2 interacts with LSD1 regulating its protein stability. Indeed in vitro ablation of PHF2 results in a massive LSD1 degradation and thus absence of CEeRNA expression. However, all the histone modifications occurring on the CE region upon activation cannot be directly attributed to LSD1 or PHF2 enzymatic activity. These results raise the question of the identity of LSD1 and PHF2 partners, which co-participate to CEeRNA expression and thus to the engagement of myoblast cells into differentiation.

Skeletal myogenesis is under the control of a combinatorial network of transcription factors. It has been shown that the homeobox protein Six1 is required for embryonic myogenesis. Using functional genomics approaches, I determined that Six1 is required for myoblasts differentiation through direct binding to a cluster of genes that are related to muscle function and muscle structure during my Master’s studies. However, it was still not fully understood how Six1 selects its genomic targets and whether Six1 regulates the expression of Myod directly. I devoted my PhD work to study three central aspects of Six1 function: through what DNA motif it binds to DNA, how it regulates the expression of the myogenic regulatory factor MyoD, and how it might regulate chromatin structure at the enhancer regions of muscle genes. A more degenerate MEF3-like DNA sequence consensus has been identified from Six1 ChIP-on-chip experiments. This MEF3 motif was further optimized using bioinformatic methods and was proved to discover Six1 binding sites with improved specificity and sensitivity. Myod, a member of myogenic regulatory factors (MRFs), is a master regulator in the myogenic lineage. Multiple MEF3 sites were identified on the regulatory regions of Myod, including two MEF3 sites within its core enhancer region (CER). Six1 was able to bind to the CER directly through these two MEF3 sites and regulated the Myod expression in cultured primary myoblasts. Previous work has suggested that the CER is also bound by Myod in myoblasts. I demonstrated that the binding of Myod to the CER depended on the presence of Six1. Six1 was also involved in maintaining a relatively ‘open’ chromatin structure at the CER, suggesting that Six1 may play a direct or indirect role in chromatin remodeling. During my Master’s studies, I demonstrated a synergistic regulation by the Six and MRF families. This synergistic function gains potential importance by the fact that ~25% of Six1 genomic targets are also bound by Myod. I decided to study whether the co-occupancy of Six1 and Myod was essential to maintain the proper global chromatin structure at these loci. Six1 and Myod co-bound genomic regions correlated with more accessible chromatin, which was detected by the formaldehyde-assisted isolation of regulatory elements (FAIRE) assay followed by DNA deep sequencing (FAIRE-seq). When combined with small interfering RNA-mediated gene knockdown of Six1 or Myod, FAIRE-seq data suggested that Six1, but not Myod, was involved in regulating the chromatin accessibility at these co-bound DNA loci. To shed light on the mechanism by which Six1 functions, proteomics approaches were used and revealed that proteins involved in “regulation of transcription” and “chromatin organization” were enriched among Six1-bound proteins. Cdk9 and its partner cyclin T have been shown to stimulate gene expression by releasing RNA polymerase II from transcriptional pause, but they can also function at gene enhancers. I determined that Six1 and Cdk9 participated in the same protein complex, and that the Cdk9 activity appeared to mediate the effect of Six1 on the chromatin accessibility at the CER to regulate the Myod expression. Taken together, these results demonstrate that Six1 regulates the expression of Myod through its direct binding on the CER which facilitates transcriptional elongation.

C/EBPβ is a bZIP transcription factor known to be involved in various physiological processes, including adipogenesis, osteogenesis and liver development. Previous studies in this laboratory revealed an inhibition of myogenesis and reduced myogenic protein expression in 5-azacytidine treated mesenchymal stem cells retrovirally transduced to overexpress C/EBPβ. The goal of this thesis was to evaluate the role of C/EBPβ in myogenic differentiation by overexpression in C2C12 myoblasts and primary myoblasts. We demonstrate reduced MyoD protein expression and subsequent downregulation of myogenic proteins during differentiation following C/EBPβ overexpression. We localized C/EBPβ to the quiescent Pax7+ satellite cells associated with the muscle fiber. Upon satellite cell activation, we observed the downregulation of C/EBPβ protein expression prior to MyoD protein expression. Furthermore, the re-expression of C/EBPβ correlated with the loss of MyoD expression later in differentiation. Histological analysis of C/EBPβ-/- mice revealed smaller fibers and a reduced Pax7+ satellite cell population as compared to control animals. In this thesis, we propose that C/EBPβ is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle differentiation by inhibiting the expression of MyoD, thus impairing proper progression through the myogenic program. In addition, we propose a role for C/EBPβ in the maintenance of undifferentiatied satellite cells.

Skeletal muscle is one of the largest tissues in humans and provides many pivotal functions to support life. Abnormality in skeletal muscle functions can lead to disease. For example, insulin resistance in skeletal muscle leads to type II diabetes. The underlying mechanisms that control energy balance in skeletal muscle remain largely elusive, especially at the genetic level. Here in the second chapter, I showed that MyoD mediated the transcriptional regulation of ACSL5, a mitochondrial protein, in C2C12 myoblasts via two E-box elements. A SNP rs2419621 (T) created a de novo E-box that together with the two pre-existing proximal E-boxes strongly enhances ACSL5 expression in both CV1 and C2C12 cells. In the third chapter, I identified a novel VGLL4-interacting protein IRF2BP2 and verified the interaction with co-immunoprecipitation and mammalian two-hybrid assays. Functionally, overexpression of IRF2BP2 and transcription factor TEAD1 activates mouse VEGF-A promoter in CV1 cells and enhances the biosynthesis of VEGF-A in C2C12 myoblasts. In vivo studies showed that ischemia induced the expression of IRF2BP2 by more than three fold, suggesting that IRF2BP2 could play a pivotal role during tissue ischemia. IRF2BP2 is a nuclear protein in both mouse cardiac myocytes and C2C12 myoblasts as demonstrated by immunohistochemistry and immunocytochemistry, respectively. Therefore, I sought to delineate the mechanism for the nuclear shuttling of IRF2BP2 in the fourth chapter. With various DNA alternations, I mapped the NLS to an evolutionarily conserved sequence 354ARKRKPSP361 in IRF2BP2. Deletion of the positively charged amino acids resulted in the abolishment of the NLS signal. Next, I showed that phosphorylation of serine 360 (S360) mediates the nuclear import of the protein. Whereas an alanine substitution (S360A) at the site resulted in perinuclear accumulation of the protein, an aspartic acid substitution (S360D) forced the nuclear accumulation. Nevertheless, the forced accumulation of the S360D mutant did not enhance the activation of VEGF-A promoter in CV1 cells as did the wild-type protein. My studies revealed two novel mechanisms by which skeletal muscle could harvest energy, thus providing new insight into the energy metabolism in skeletal muscle

C/EBPβ is a bZIP transcription factor known to be involved in various physiological processes, including adipogenesis, osteogenesis and liver development. Previous studies in this laboratory revealed an inhibition of myogenesis and reduced myogenic protein expression in 5-azacytidine treated mesenchymal stem cells retrovirally transduced to overexpress C/EBPβ. The goal of this thesis was to evaluate the role of C/EBPβ in myogenic differentiation by overexpression in C2C12 myoblasts and primary myoblasts. We demonstrate reduced MyoD protein expression and subsequent downregulation of myogenic proteins during differentiation following C/EBPβ overexpression. We localized C/EBPβ to the quiescent Pax7+ satellite cells associated with the muscle fiber. Upon satellite cell activation, we observed the downregulation of C/EBPβ protein expression prior to MyoD protein expression. Furthermore, the re-expression of C/EBPβ correlated with the loss of MyoD expression later in differentiation. Histological analysis of C/EBPβ-/- mice revealed smaller fibers and a reduced Pax7+ satellite cell population as compared to control animals. In this thesis, we propose that C/EBPβ is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle differentiation by inhibiting the expression of MyoD, thus impairing proper progression through the myogenic program. In addition, we propose a role for C/EBPβ in the maintenance of undifferentiatied satellite cells.

Skeletal muscle is one of the largest tissues in humans and provides many pivotal functions to support life. Abnormality in skeletal muscle functions can lead to disease. For example, insulin resistance in skeletal muscle leads to type II diabetes. The underlying mechanisms that control energy balance in skeletal muscle remain largely elusive, especially at the genetic level. Here in the second chapter, I showed that MyoD mediated the transcriptional regulation of ACSL5, a mitochondrial protein, in C2C12 myoblasts via two E-box elements. A SNP rs2419621 (T) created a de novo E-box that together with the two pre-existing proximal E-boxes strongly enhances ACSL5 expression in both CV1 and C2C12 cells. In the third chapter, I identified a novel VGLL4-interacting protein IRF2BP2 and verified the interaction with co-immunoprecipitation and mammalian two-hybrid assays. Functionally, overexpression of IRF2BP2 and transcription factor TEAD1 activates mouse VEGF-A promoter in CV1 cells and enhances the biosynthesis of VEGF-A in C2C12 myoblasts. In vivo studies showed that ischemia induced the expression of IRF2BP2 by more than three fold, suggesting that IRF2BP2 could play a pivotal role during tissue ischemia. IRF2BP2 is a nuclear protein in both mouse cardiac myocytes and C2C12 myoblasts as demonstrated by immunohistochemistry and immunocytochemistry, respectively. Therefore, I sought to delineate the mechanism for the nuclear shuttling of IRF2BP2 in the fourth chapter. With various DNA alternations, I mapped the NLS to an evolutionarily conserved sequence 354ARKRKPSP361 in IRF2BP2. Deletion of the positively charged amino acids resulted in the abolishment of the NLS signal. Next, I showed that phosphorylation of serine 360 (S360) mediates the nuclear import of the protein. Whereas an alanine substitution (S360A) at the site resulted in perinuclear accumulation of the protein, an aspartic acid substitution (S360D) forced the nuclear accumulation. Nevertheless, the forced accumulation of the S360D mutant did not enhance the activation of VEGF-A promoter in CV1 cells as did the wild-type protein. My studies revealed two novel mechanisms by which skeletal muscle could harvest energy, thus providing new insight into the energy metabolism in skeletal muscle

C/EBPβ is a bZIP transcription factor known to be involved in various physiological processes, including adipogenesis, osteogenesis and liver development. Previous studies in this laboratory revealed an inhibition of myogenesis and reduced myogenic protein expression in 5-azacytidine treated mesenchymal stem cells retrovirally transduced to overexpress C/EBPβ. The goal of this thesis was to evaluate the role of C/EBPβ in myogenic differentiation by overexpression in C2C12 myoblasts and primary myoblasts. We demonstrate reduced MyoD protein expression and subsequent downregulation of myogenic proteins during differentiation following C/EBPβ overexpression. We localized C/EBPβ to the quiescent Pax7+ satellite cells associated with the muscle fiber. Upon satellite cell activation, we observed the downregulation of C/EBPβ protein expression prior to MyoD protein expression. Furthermore, the re-expression of C/EBPβ correlated with the loss of MyoD expression later in differentiation. Histological analysis of C/EBPβ-/- mice revealed smaller fibers and a reduced Pax7+ satellite cell population as compared to control animals. In this thesis, we propose that C/EBPβ is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle differentiation by inhibiting the expression of MyoD, thus impairing proper progression through the myogenic program. In addition, we propose a role for C/EBPβ in the maintenance of undifferentiatied satellite cells.

Skeletal muscle is one of the largest tissues in humans and provides many pivotal functions to support life. Abnormality in skeletal muscle functions can lead to disease. For example, insulin resistance in skeletal muscle leads to type II diabetes. The underlying mechanisms that control energy balance in skeletal muscle remain largely elusive, especially at the genetic level. Here in the second chapter, I showed that MyoD mediated the transcriptional regulation of ACSL5, a mitochondrial protein, in C2C12 myoblasts via two E-box elements. A SNP rs2419621 (T) created a de novo E-box that together with the two pre-existing proximal E-boxes strongly enhances ACSL5 expression in both CV1 and C2C12 cells. In the third chapter, I identified a novel VGLL4-interacting protein IRF2BP2 and verified the interaction with co-immunoprecipitation and mammalian two-hybrid assays. Functionally, overexpression of IRF2BP2 and transcription factor TEAD1 activates mouse VEGF-A promoter in CV1 cells and enhances the biosynthesis of VEGF-A in C2C12 myoblasts. In vivo studies showed that ischemia induced the expression of IRF2BP2 by more than three fold, suggesting that IRF2BP2 could play a pivotal role during tissue ischemia. IRF2BP2 is a nuclear protein in both mouse cardiac myocytes and C2C12 myoblasts as demonstrated by immunohistochemistry and immunocytochemistry, respectively. Therefore, I sought to delineate the mechanism for the nuclear shuttling of IRF2BP2 in the fourth chapter. With various DNA alternations, I mapped the NLS to an evolutionarily conserved sequence 354ARKRKPSP361 in IRF2BP2. Deletion of the positively charged amino acids resulted in the abolishment of the NLS signal. Next, I showed that phosphorylation of serine 360 (S360) mediates the nuclear import of the protein. Whereas an alanine substitution (S360A) at the site resulted in perinuclear accumulation of the protein, an aspartic acid substitution (S360D) forced the nuclear accumulation. Nevertheless, the forced accumulation of the S360D mutant did not enhance the activation of VEGF-A promoter in CV1 cells as did the wild-type protein. My studies revealed two novel mechanisms by which skeletal muscle could harvest energy, thus providing new insight into the energy metabolism in skeletal muscle

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1996. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [72]-87).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [79]-97).