Activation of muscle-specific genes in pigment, nerve, fat, liver, and fibroblast cell lines by forced expression of MyoD.
Abstract
MyoD is a master regulatory gene for myogenesis. Under the control of a retroviral long terminal repeat, MyoD was expressed in a variety of differentiated cell types by using either a DNA transfection vector or a retrovirus. Expression of muscle-specific proteins was observed in chicken, human, and rat primary fibroblasts and in differentiated melanoma, neuroblastoma, liver, and adipocyte lines. The ability of MyoD to activate muscle genes in a variety of differentiated cell lines suggests that no additional tissue-specific factors other than MyoD are needed to activate the downstream program for terminal muscle differentiation or that, if such factors exist, they are themselves activated by MyoD expression.
- Publication:
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- July 1989
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.86.14.5434
- Bibcode:
- 1989PNAS...86.5434W