A role for PLCβ1 in myotonic dystrophies type 1 and 2

Phosphoinositide-phospholipase C β1 (PLCβ1) plays a crucial role in the initiation of the genetic program responsible for muscle differentiation. We previously demonstrated that nuclear PLCβ1 activates the cyclin D3 promoter during the differentiation of myoblasts to myotubes, indicating that PLCβ1 is essential for cyclin D3 promoter activation and gene transcription, through c-jun/AP1. Myotonic dystrophy (DM) is the most prevalent form of muscular dystrophy in adults. DM type 1 (DM1) and type 2 (DM2) are dominantly inherited multisystem disorders. DM1 is triggered by the pathological expansion of a (CTG)(n) triplet repeat in the gene coding for DMPK, the dystrophia myotonica-protein kinase, whereas a (CCTG)(n) tetranucleotide repeat expansion in the ZNF9 gene, encoding a CCHC-type zinc finger protein, causes DM2. We found that, unlike in normal myotubes, the level of expression of PLCβ1 in DM1 and DM2 cells was already elevated in proliferating cells. Treatment with insulin induced a dramatic decrease in the amount of PLCβ1. During differentiation, cyclin D3 and myogenin were elevated in normal myotubes, whereas differentiating DM1 and DM2 cells did not increase these proteins. Forced expression of PLCβ1 in DM1 and DM2 cells increased the expression of differentiation markers, myogenin and cyclin D3, and enhanced fusion of DM myoblasts. These results highlight again that PLCβ1 expression is a key player in myoblast differentiation, functioning as a positive regulator in the correction of delayed differentiation of skeletal muscle in DM human myoblasts.