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Updated: Aug 3, 2026

Spheroid Assay to Measure TGF-β-induced Invasion
Published on: November 16, 2011
Transforming growth factor-beta-induced inhibition of myogenesis is mediated through Smad pathway and is modulated by
Shoukang Zhu1, Pascal J Goldschmidt-Clermont, Chunming Dong
1Division of Cardiology, Duke University Medical Center, 406 Sands Building, Research Drive, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
Abstract:
The expression of muscle-specific genes associated with myogenesis is controlled by several myogenic transcription factors, including myogenin and MEF2D. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) has been shown to inhibit myogenesis, yet the molecular mechanisms underlying such inhibition are not known. In the present study, TGF-beta was shown to inhibit myogenin and MEF2D expression and myotube formation in C2C12 myoblasts cultured in differentiation medium in a cell density-dependent manner. Transfection of C2C12 cells with Smad7, an antagonist for TGF-beta/Smad signaling, restored the capacity of these cells to differentiate in the presence of TGF-beta or when cultured in growth medium at low confluence, conditions that hinder muscle differentiation. Moreover, nocodazole, a microtubule-destabilizing agent, enhanced the inhibition of myogenesis exerted by TGF-beta, an effect that could be restored by tubulin-polymerizing agent taxol, both of which have been shown to affect Smad-microtubule interaction and regulate TGF-beta/Smad signaling. Our results indicate that TGF-beta inhibits myogenesis, at least in part, via Smad pathway, and provide evidence that low-dose pharmacological agents taxol and nocodazole can be used as a means to modulate myogenesis without affecting cell survival.
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