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M-Cadherin Is a PAX3 Target During Myotome Patterning
Joana Esteves de Lima1, Reem Bou Akar1, Myriam Mansour1
1Univ Paris Est Creteil, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), EnvA, Etablissement Français du Sang (EFS), Assistance Publique Hopitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Institut Mondor de Recherche Biomedicale (IMRB), Creteil, France.
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
|April 19, 2021
Summary
Paired-homeobox 3 (PAX3) is crucial for embryonic muscle development. Loss of PAX3 impairs myotome formation and alters M-Cadherin expression, highlighting its role in muscle progenitor cell regulation.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Molecular Genetics
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Paired-homeobox 3 (PAX3) is a key transcription factor regulating muscle progenitor cells during embryonic development.
- While PAX3 is known to influence somite development, its specific role in myotome formation remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the consequences of PAX3 mutations on myotome formation.
- To identify downstream targets of PAX3 involved in myotome development.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of *Pax3*-mutant mouse embryos.
- Assessment of myotome morphology, basal lamina integrity, and Desmin expression.
- Investigation of M-Cadherin expression in response to *Pax3* gain- and loss-of-function.
Main Results:
- *Pax3*-mutant embryos exhibit impaired myotome formation, defective basal lamina, and loss of Desmin regionalization.
- A more severe phenotype was observed in embryos with combined *Pax3*-null and dominant-negative alleles.
- M-Cadherin was identified as a direct PAX3 target gene, with its expression modulated by *Pax3* activity.
Conclusions:
- PAX3 is essential for proper myotome formation during embryonic development.
- M-Cadherin is a downstream target of PAX3 and plays a role in myotome development.
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