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Transitions in Gene Activity during Development of Muscle Fibers^a

Michigan State University, East Lansing

Abstract

One of the fundamental aspects of skeletal muscle differentiation is activation of the gene programs coding for muscle-specific proteins. This transition encompasses gene products both directly and indirectly involved in skeletal muscles' contractile and developmental activities. This review article therefore examines unique gene transitions in myofibrillar proteins, sarcoplasmic reticulum, acetylcholine receptors, energy metabolism, cell membrane fusion and nucleic acid metabolism. In nearly all cases there is direct evidence that muscle differentiation is accomplished by synthesis of gene products unique to muscle fibers rather than by stimulation of genes that are already active in replicating myogenic precursor cells and non-muscle cells.

^a Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station Article No. 8444. This effort was supported in part by Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station Project Numbers 1241, 1265 and 1280; Biomedical Research Support Grants from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the College of Osteopathic Medicine; and research grants from the Muscular Dystrophy Association of America and the Michigan Heart Association. The authors are grateful to Drs. R. A. Merkel and A. M. Pearson for their helpful suggestions.

^b Department of Animal Husbandry.

^c Department of Biomechanics.

^d Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition.