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CHAMP, a novel cardiac-specific helicase regulated by MEF2C
Z P Liu1, O Nakagawa, M Nakagawa
1Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 6000 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, Texas 75390-9148, USA.
Developmental Biology
|June 9, 2001
Summary
Myocyte Enhancer Factor 2C (MEF2C) regulates heart development. A novel MEF2C-dependent gene, CHAMP, is identified, crucial for cardiac RNA processing and transcriptional control in cardiomyocytes.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Biology
- Molecular Genetics
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Myocyte Enhancer Factor 2C (MEF2C) is essential for cardiac myogenesis and morphogenesis.
- MEF2C deficiency in mouse embryos leads to heart development arrest, ventricular defects, and disrupted cardiomyocyte differentiation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify genes regulated by MEF2C in the developing heart.
- To characterize a novel MEF2C-dependent gene, CHAMP, in cardiac development.
Main Methods:
- Differential array analysis and subtractive cloning using RNA from wild-type and MEF2C-null embryonic mouse hearts.
- Analysis of CHAMP gene expression during mouse embryogenesis and postnatal development.
Main Results:
- Identified a novel MEF2C-dependent gene encoding CHAMP, a cardiac-restricted helicase involved in RNA processing and transcription.
- CHAMP expression begins early in cardiac development, coinciding with MEF2C expression.
- CHAMP is specifically expressed in cardiomyocytes, with expression patterns correlating with cardiomyocyte cell cycle exit during trabeculation.
Conclusions:
- CHAMP acts downstream of MEF2C in a cardiac-specific regulatory pathway.
- CHAMP likely plays a role in RNA processing and/or transcriptional control in developing and mature cardiomyocytes.