Oliver C. Steinbach, Alan P. Wolffe, Ralph A.W. Rupp
Histone Deacetylase Activity Is Required for the Induction of the MyoD Muscle Cell Lineage in Xenopus
Acetylation of nucleosome core histones, which is
positively correlated with transcriptional activity, is
developmentally regulated in Xenopus. Here we have
used the specific histone deacetylase (HDAC)-inhibitor
trichostatin A (TSA) to induce precocious histone
hyperacetylation in the early frog embryo in order
to investigate the potential role of the endogenous
changes in chromatin acetylation for the temporally
programmed induction of skeletal myogenesis. We
show that TSA-treatment (i) selectively blocked the
transcriptional induction of the myoD gene, and (ii)
severely reduced subsequent muscle differentiation.
Both phenotypes required TSA application before
gastrulation. This indicates that HDAC activity is required
early for the formation of the frog embryonic
musculature, apparently for the induction of the
MyoD-dependent muscle cell lineage.
Biological Chemistry, Walter de Gruyter
Print ISSN: 1431-6730
Volume: 381, 09/2000
Pages: 1013 - 1016
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