Lnc237 regulates duck myoblasts proliferation and differentiation via the miR-22-5p/MYL9 axis

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in regulating various life activities in animals, especially in the development of skeletal muscle. In our previous sequencing results, a novel lncRNA (lnc237) was differentially expressed in duck skeletal muscle. However, the mechanisms for lnc237 regulation of the proliferation and differentiation of duck myoblasts were still unclear. In this study, the effects of lnc237 transfection on duck myoblasts were detected, and it proved that lnc237 inhibited the proliferation and promoted the differentiation of duck myoblasts. Mechanistically, lnc237 was expressed in both cytoplasm and nucleus of myoblasts and its expression level was relatively high in muscle tissue. Furthermore, the targets of lncRNA and miRNA were predicted, and found that the targeted miR-22-5p of lnc237 and the targeted myosin light chain 9 (MYL9) of miR-22-5p were also involved in regulating the proliferation and differentiation of duck myoblasts. Overall, lnc237 acted as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to absorb miR-22-5p, reducing its inhibitory effect on MYL9. These results suggested that lnc237 regulated the proliferation and differentiation of duck myoblasts via the miR-22-5p/MYL9 axis. The discovery contributes to a deeper understanding of duck skeletal muscle development and provides insights into the application of lncRNAs in duck breeding.