The RNA surveillance factor UPF1 regulates the migration and adhesion of porcine skeletal muscle satellite cells.

Skeletal muscle satellite cells (SCs) play an important role in the repairment and regeneration of damaged muscle. The activation, proliferation, migration, and differentiation of SCs are essential to the response to muscle injury. Up-frameshift 1 (UPF1) is involved in the regulation of many developmental processes. However, the role of UPF1 and its associated regulatory mechanism in SCs are still unclear. Here, we analyzed changes in the transcriptome of porcine SCs with UPF1 knockdown. The results showed that focal adhesion and actin cytoskeleton processes were regulated by UPF1. We also confirmed experimentally that UPF1 promoted SC migration and adhesion by regulating the expression of F-Actin, Vinculin, and several adhesion-related genes. Furthermore, we found that phosphorylated focal adhesion kinase (p-FAK) was down-regulated by UPF1 knockdown. This study identifies the role of UPF1 in regulating SC migration and adhesion and therefore provides new insight into the regulatory mechanism of UPF1 in the process of repairing damaged muscle.