The triiodothyronine nuclear receptor c-ErbAalpha1 inhibits avian MyoD transcriptional activity in myoblasts.

Thyroid hormone stimulates myoblast differentiation, through an inhibition of AP-1 activity occurring at the onset of differentiation. In this study we found that the T3 nuclear receptor c-ErbAalpha1 (T3Ralpha1) is involved in a mechanism preserving the duration of myoblast proliferation. Independently of the hormone presence, T3Ralpha1 represses avian MyoD transcriptional activity. Using several mutants of T3Ralpha1, we found that the hinge region plays a crucial role in the inhibition of MyoD activity. In particular, mutations of two small basic sequences included in alpha helices abrogate the T3Ralpha1/MyoD functional interaction. Similarly, the T3 receptor also represses myogenin transcriptional activity. Therefore, despite stimulating avian myoblast differentiation by a T3-dependent pathway not involving myogenic factors, T3Ralpha1 contributes to maintain an optimal myoblast proliferation period by inhibiting MyoD and myogenin activity.