CF2 transcription factor is involved in the regulation of Mef2 RNA levels, nuclei number and muscle fiber size

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 12; no. 6; p. e0179194
• Main Authors: Arredondo, Juan J, Vivar, Jorge, Laine-Menéndez, Sara, Martínez-Morentin, Leticia, Cervera, Margarita
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 15.06.2017; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Abundance; Animals; Binding sites; Biology and Life Sciences; Body Patterning - physiology; Buildings; Cell Nucleus - genetics; Cell Nucleus - metabolism; Circuits; Cloning; Control systems; Developmental stages; DNA-Binding Proteins - genetics; DNA-Binding Proteins - metabolism; Drosophila; Drosophila melanogaster; Drosophila Proteins - biosynthesis; Drosophila Proteins - genetics; Drosophila Proteins - metabolism; Embryo, Nonmammalian - embryology; Embryos; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental - physiology; Gene regulation; Genes; Genetic regulation; Insects; Medicine and Health Sciences; Muscle Development - physiology; Muscles - embryology; Mutants; Myogenesis; Myogenic Regulatory Factors - biosynthesis; Myogenic Regulatory Factors - genetics; Nuclei; Physiological aspects; Proteins; Research and Analysis Methods; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; RNA, Messenger - biosynthesis; RNA, Messenger - genetics; Transcription factors; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcription Factors - metabolism
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0179194

CF2 and Mef2 influence a variety of developmental muscle processes at distinct stages of development. Nevertheless, the exact nature of the CF2-Mef2 relationship and its effects on muscle building remain yet to be resolved. Here, we explored the regulatory role of CF2 in the Drosophila embryo muscle formation. To address this question and not having proper null CF2 mutants we exploited loss or gain of function strategies to study the contribution of CF2 to Mef2 transcription regulation and to muscle formation. Our data point to CF2 as a factor involved in the regulation of muscle final size and/or the number of nuclei present in each muscle. This function is independent of its role as a Mef2 collaborative factor in the transcriptional regulation of muscle-structural genes. Although Mef2 expression patterns do not change, reductions or increases in parallel in CF2 and Mef2 transcript abundance were observed in interfered and overexpressed CF2 embryos. Since CF2 expression variations yield altered Mef2 expression levels but with correct spatio-temporal Mef2 expression patterns, it can be concluded that only the mechanism controlling expression levels is de-regulated. Here, it is proposed that CF2 regulates Mef2 expression through a Feedforward Loop circuit.