3,5,3'-Triiodothyronine positively regulates both MyoD1 gene transcription and terminal differentiation in C2 myoblasts.

Thyroid hormones are among the positive regulators of muscle development in vivo, but little is known about the way they work. We demonstrate here that MyoD1, one of the master genes controlling myogenesis, is a target of T3. After proliferating C2 myoblasts have been treated with T3 for 15 h, we observed a rise in MyoD1 expression at both the mRNA and protein levels. This is the first positive hormonal control of MyoD1 gene expression reported so far. We also provide data which suggest that T3 nuclear receptor(s) have a direct role on MyoD1 gene transcription: 1) C2 cells express the alpha 1 form of T3 nuclear receptors; 2) T3 up-regulates MyoD1 gene transcription and does not affect MyoD1 mRNA stability, as demonstrated by run-on and actinomycin D chase experiments, respectively; and 3) this transcriptional activation does not need the synthesis of intermediate protein(s) since it is not abolished by simultaneous treatment with cycloheximide. Moreover, in presence of T3, the increase of MyoD1 transcripts is associated with a faster terminal differentiation. Indeed we observed an earlier expression of various markers of myogenesis including myogenin (a regulatory gene of the MyoD1 family mainly involved in the triggering of terminal differentiation), myosin light chain 1A, and troponin T in T3-treated cells vs. untreated cells. We suggest that the regulation of a pivotal myogenic gene could be an important step in the control exerted by T3 on muscle development in vivo.