Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 9, 2026

Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Assay for Tissue-specific Genes using Early-stage Mouse Embryos
Published on: April 29, 2011
Electrical activity regulates AChR gene expression via JNK, PKCzeta and Sp1 in skeletal chick muscle
1Kadir Has University Medical Faculty, Department of Pharmacology, Istanbul, Turkey.
Abstract:
Electrical activity of myotubes represses nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) gene expression. This effect is mimicked by okadaic acid and blocked by tetrodotoxin (TTX) or staurosporine in cultured myocytes [Altiok et al., EMBO J. 16 (1997) 717-725]. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of this repression. We show that addition of exogenous phospholipase D (PLD) and C inhibits AChR expression in a manner which parallels that of okadaic acid. Furthermore, okadaic acid caused an increase of the threonine phosphorylation of protein kinase Czeta (PKCzeta) and activator of transcription factor (ATF2) and a decrease of the phosphorylation of Sp1. All these effects were reversed by staurosporine, and TTX also abolished ATF2 phosphorylation. These data reveal a possible involvement of PLD, c-jun N-terminal kinase, PKCzeta and Sp1 in the repression of AChR genes by electrical activity.
Related Concept Videos
Cell Specific Gene Expression
Generation of Action Potential in Skeletal Muscles
Like neurons, muscle cells are also regarded as excitable due to their capacity to change in response to stimuli, primarily due to voltage-gated ion channels embedded in their plasma membranes, which get activated by alterations in the cell's...
Master Transcription Regulators
GPCRs Regulate Adenylyl Cylase Activity
Two...
Chromatin Position Affects Gene Expression
Topologically Associated Domains (TADs)
The 3-dimensional positioning of chromatin in the nucleus influences the timing and level of...
Somatic to iPS Cell Reprogramming
