부산대학교 도서관

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejcb.2006.11.004 Byline: Edyta Wrobel, Edyta Brzoska, Jerzy Moraczewski Keywords: Satellite cell; M-cadherin; [beta]-catenin; Fusion; Adhesion; Differentiation; Myoblast Abstract: Cadherins belong to a large family of membrane glycoprotein adhesion receptors that mediate homophilic, calcium-dependent cell adhesion. During myogenesis, cadherins are involved in initial cell-to-cell recognition; and it has also been suggested that they play a role in the initiation of myoblast fusion into multinuclear myotubes. One of the members of the cadherin family, M-cadherin, has been detected during embryogenesis in myogenic cells of somitic origin and in adult muscles. We investigated the distribution and function of M-cadherin and [beta]-catenin during differentiation of myoblasts in primary cultures of rat satellite cells. We found that M-cadherin was accumulated at the areas of contact between fusing myoblasts and that it colocalized with [beta]-catenin. Moreover, [beta]-catenin colocalized with actin in pre-fusing myoblasts. We show that myoblast differentiation is accompanied by an increase in the amounts of M-cadherin and [beta]-catenin both at the mRNA and the protein level. Flow cytometry analysis showed that M-cadherin expression was highest in fusing myoblasts. In addition, an antibody specific for the extracellular domain of M-cadherin inhibited the fusion of cultured myoblasts. These data suggest that regulation of the M-cadherin level plays an important role in the differentiation of satellite cells and in myoblast fusion in primary cultures. Author Affiliation: Department of Cytology, Faculty of Biology, Warsaw University, 1 Miecznikowa Street, PL-02-096 Warsaw, Poland Article History: Received 7 August 2006; Revised 9 November 2006; Accepted 13 November 2006