LncRNA SNHG1 regulates muscle stem cells fate through Wnt/β-catenin pathway

Skeletal muscle stem cells (MuSCs) played an important role in maintaining the proper function of muscle tissues. In adults, they normally remained in a quiescent state and activated upon stimulation to undergo self-renewal or myogenic differentiation. This process was complexly regulated by cytokines, and the molecular mechanisms that promoted MuSCs activation remained largely unknown.

Here, we analyzed transcriptome data from MuSCs activated by different stimuli using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and identified the key long non-coding RNA SNHG1 (lncSNHG1), which promotes the transition from the quiescent to the activated state of MuSCs. Overexpression of lncSNHG1 was able to promote the proliferation and differentiation of MuSCs, whereas knockdown resulted in the opposite results. Mechanistically, the disruption of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway blocked the quiescence exit induced by lncSNHG1.

We conclude that lncSNHG1 is a key factor that promotes the transition from the quiescent to the activated state of MuSCs and promotes cell proliferation and differentiation through the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.