New insights into the epigenetic control of satellite cells

• 作者: Viviana Moresi Nicoletta Marroncelli Sergio Adamo
• 来源期刊: 世界干细胞杂志：英文版（电子版）
• 学科: 医学
• 关键词: HISTONE methylation HISTONE acetylation Muscle STEM CELLS Adult STEM CELLS Noncoding RNAs SATELLITE CELL activation SATELLITE CELL differentiation SATELLITE CELL QUIESCENCE
• 年，卷（期）: 2015,（6）
• 页码范围: 945-955
• 页数: 11页
• 分类号: R

摘要

Epigenetics finely tunes gene expression at a functionallevel without modifying the DNA sequence, therebycontributing to the complexity of genomic regulation.Satellite cells （SCs） are adult muscle stem cells thatare important for skeletal post-natal muscle growth,homeostasis and repair. The understanding of theepigenome of SCs at different stages and of themultiple layers of the post-transcriptional regulationof gene expression is constantly expanding. Dynamicinteractions between different epigenetic mechanismsregulate the appropriate timing of muscle-specific geneexpression and influence the lineage fate of SCs. Inthis review, we report and discuss the recent literatureabout the epigenetic control of SCs during the myogenicprocess from activation to proliferation and from theircommitment to a muscle cell fate to their differentiationand fusion to myotubes. We describe how the coordinatedactivities of the histone methyltransferasefamilies Polycomb group （PcG）, which represses theexpression of developmentally regulated genes, andTrithorax group, which antagonizes the repressive activityof the PcG, regulate myogenesis by restricting geneexpression in a time-dependent manner during eachstep of the process. We discuss how histone acetylationand deacetylation occurs in specific loci throughoutSC differentiation to enable the time-dependent transcriptionof specific genes. Moreover, we describe themultiple roles of microRNA, an additional epigeneticmechanism, in regulating gene expression in SCs, byrepressing or enhancing gene transcription or translationduring each step of myogenesis. The importance ofthese epigenetic pathways in modulating SC activationand differentiation renders them as promising targetsfor disease interventions. Understanding the mostrecent findings regarding the epigenetic mechanismsthat regulate SC behavior is useful from the perspectiveof pharmacological manipulation for improving muscleregeneration and for promoting muscle homeostasisunder pathological conditions.