MRF-4 exhibits fiber type- and muscle-specific pattern of expression in postnatal rat muscle.

The crucial role played by the myogenic regulatory factors (MRFs) in the development of skeletal muscle has been well characterized. The continued expression of these factors in skeletal muscle of the postnatal animal has led to the suggestion that they may play a role in the regulation of muscle fiber phenotype. The few studies that have examined the expression of MRF-4 in postnatal muscle have been carried out at the whole muscle level. These studies demonstrated that this factor is expressed at a higher level than any other MRF but suggested that this was not affected by muscle phenotype. In this study, the expression of the MRF-4 transcript has been examined at the cellular level by in situ hybridization. It was observed that in the mixed fiber type muscle the gastrocnemius, MRF-4 was preferentially expressed in slow muscle fibers, but in the slow postural soleus, no fiber type specificity was observed. These observations suggest that MRF-4 may play a role in the regulation of muscle fiber phenotype in the postnatal animal.