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Published online 16 April 2001. doi:10.1083/jcb.153.2.329
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© The Rockefeller University Press, 0021-9525/2001//329 $5.00
The Journal of Cell Biology, Volume 153, Number 2, , 2001 329-338

Original Article

Regulation of the Growth of Multinucleated Muscle Cells by an Nfatc2-Dependent Pathway



Valerie Horsleya, Bret B. Fridaya, Sarah Mattesona, Kristy Miller Kegleya, Jonathan Gepharta, and Grace K. Pavlatha

a Department of Pharmacology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322
Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, Rm. 5027, O.W. Rollins Research Bldg., Atlanta, GA 30322.(404) 727-0365(404) 727-3353

gpavlat{at}emory.edu

The nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) family of transcription factors regulates the development and differentiation of several tissue types. Here, we examine the role of NFATC2 in skeletal muscle by analyzing adult NFATC2–/– mice. These mice exhibit reduced muscle size due to a decrease in myofiber cross-sectional area, suggesting that growth is blunted. Muscle growth was examined during regeneration after injury, wherein NFATC2-null myofibers form normally but display impaired growth. The growth defect is intrinsic to muscle cells, since the lack of NFATC2 in primary muscle cultures results in reduced cell size and myonuclear number in myotubes. Retroviral-mediated expression of NFATC2 in the mutant cells rescues this cellular phenotype. Myonuclear number is similarly decreased in NFATC2–/– mice. Taken together, these results implicate a novel role for NFATC2 in skeletal muscle growth. We demonstrate that during growth of multinucleated muscle cells, myoblasts initially fuse to form myotubes with a limited number of nuclei and that subsequent nuclear addition and increases in myotube size are controlled by a molecular pathway regulated by NFATC2.

Key Words: NFATC2 • myotube • muscle growth • nuclear number • fusion

© 2001 The Rockefeller University Press

Abbreviations used in this paper: CSA, cross-sectional area; DM, differentiation medium; EMyHC, embryonic MyHC; MyHC, myosin heavy chain; NFAT, nuclear factor of activated T cells; RT, reverse transcription; TA, tibialis anterior.


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