S100B inhibits myogenic differentiation and myotube formation in a RAGE-independent manner

S100B is a Ca(2+)-modulated protein of the EF-hand type with both intracellular and extracellular roles. S100B, which is most abundant in the brain, has been shown to exert trophic and toxic effects on neurons depending on the concentration attained in the extracellular space. S100B is also found in normal serum, and its serum concentration increases in several nervous and nonnervous pathological conditions, suggesting that S100B-expressing cells outside the brain might release the protein and S100B might exert effects on nonnervous cells. We show here that at picomolar to nanomolar levels, S100B inhibits myogenic differentiation of rat L6 myoblasts via inactivation of p38 kinase with resulting decrease in the expression of the myogenic differentiation markers, myogenin, muscle creatine kinase, and myosin heavy chain, and reduction of myotube formation. Although myoblasts express the multiligand receptor RAGE, which has been shown to transduce S100B effects on neurons, S100B produces identical effects on myoblasts overexpressing either full-length RAGE or RAGE lacking the transducing domain. This suggests that S100B affects myoblasts by interacting with another receptor and that RAGE is not the only receptor for S100B. Our data suggest that S100B might participate in the regulation of muscle development and regeneration by inhibiting crucial steps of the myogenic program in a RAGE-independent manner.