Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 30, 2026

Application of Chronic Stimulation to Study Contractile Activity-induced Rat Skeletal Muscle Phenotypic Adaptations
Published on: January 25, 2018
A cyclic AMP-dependent pathway regulates the expression of acetylcholinesterase during myogenic differentiation of
Nina L Siow1, Roy C Y Choi, Anthony W M Cheng
1Department of Biology and Molecular Neuroscience Center, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay Road, Hong Kong, China.
Abstract:
The expression of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is markedly increased during myogenic differentiation of C2C12 myoblasts to myotubes; the expression is mediated by intrinsic factor(s) during muscle differentiation. In order to analyze the molecular mechanisms regulating AChE expression during myogenic differentiation, a approximately 2.2-kb human AChE promoter tagged with a luciferase reporter gene, namely pAChE-Luc, was stably transfected into C2C12 cells. The profile of promoter-driven luciferase activity during myogenic differentiation of C2C12 myotubes was found to be similar to that of endogenous expression of AChE catalytic subunit. The increase of AChE expression was reciprocally regulated by a cAMP-dependent signaling pathway. The level of intracellular cAMP, the activity of cAMP-dependent protein kinase, the phosphorylation of cAMP-responsive element binding protein and the activity of cAMP- responsive element (CRE) were down-regulated during the myotube formation. Mutating the CRE site of human AChE promoter altered the original myogenic profile of the promoter activity and its suppressive response to cAMP. In addition, the suppressive effect of the CRE site is dependent on its location on the promoter. Therefore, our results suggest that a cAMP-dependent signaling pathway serves as a suppressive element in regulating the expression of AChE during early myogenesis.
More Related Videos
09:32Light-mediated Reversible Modulation of the Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Pathway during Cell Differentiation and Xenopus Embryonic Development
Published on: June 15, 2017
07:41Simultaneous Electrical and Mechanical Stimulation to Enhance Cells' Cardiomyogenic Potential
Published on: January 18, 2019
Related Concept Videos
cAMP-dependent Protein Kinase Pathways
Relaxation of Skeletal Muscles
When an action potential reaches the axon terminal, it depolarizes the membrane and opens voltage-gated sodium channels. Sodium ions enter the cell, further depolarizing the presynaptic membrane. This depolarization causes voltage-gated calcium channels to open.
Intracellular Signaling Cascades
Cholinergic Receptors: Muscarinic
The subtypes M1, M3, and M5 couple with the Gq subunit and activate the phospholipase C (PLC) activity, mobilizing intracellular Ca2+. Activation...
Calmodulin-dependent Signaling
The Ca2+-CaM complex does not have enzymatic activity by itself. Instead, the complex binds downstream target proteins, including membrane proteins or enzymes,...
Cholinergic Neurons: Neurotransmission