Requirement of Pitx2 for skeletal muscle homeostasis

Skeletal muscle is generated by the successive incorporation of primary (embryonic), secondary (fetal), and tertiary (adult) fibers into muscle. Conditional excision of Pitx2 function by an MCK^Cre driver resulted in animals with histological and ultrastructural defects in P30 muscles and fibers, respectively. Mutant muscle showed severe reduction in mitochondria and FoxO3-mediated mitophagy. Both oxidative and glycolytic energy metabolism were reduced. Conditional excision was limited to fetal muscle fibers after the G1-G0 transition and resulted in altered MHC, Rac1, MEF2a, and alpha-tubulin expression within these fibers. The onset of excision, monitored by a nuclear reporter gene, was observed as early as E16. Muscle at this stage was already severely malformed, but appeared to recover by P30 by the expansion of adjoining larger fibers. Our studies demonstrate that the homeodomain transcription factor Pitx2 has a postmitotic role in maintaining skeletal muscle integrity and energy homeostasis in fetal muscle fibers.