The dermomyotome dorsomedial lip drives growth and morphogenesis of both the primary myotome and dermomyotome epithelium.

The cellular and molecular mechanisms that govern early muscle patterning in vertebrate development are unknown. The earliest skeletal muscle to organize, the primary myotome of the epaxial domain, is a thin sheet of muscle tissue that expands in each somite segment in a lateral-to-medial direction in concert with the overlying dermomyotome epithelium. Several mutually contradictory models have been proposed to explain how myotome precursor cells, which are known to reside within the dermomyotome, translocate to the subjacent myotome layer to form this first segmented muscle tissue of the body. Using experimental embryology to discriminate among these models, we show here that ablation of the dorsomedial lip (DML) of the dermomyotome epithelium blocks further primary myotome growth while ablation of other dermomyotome regions does not. Myotome growth and morphogenesis can be restored in a DML-ablated somite of a host embryo by transplantation of a second DML from a donor embryo. Chick-quail marking experiments show that new myotome cells in such recombinant somites are derived from the donor DML and that cells from other regions of the somite are neither present nor required. In addition to the myotome, the transplanted DML also gives rise to the dermomyotome epithelium overlying the new myotome growth region and from which the mesenchymal dermatome will later emerge. These results demonstrate that the DML is a cellular growth engine that is both necessary and sufficient to drive the growth and morphogenesis of the primary myotome and simultaneously drive that of the dermomyotome, an epithelium containing muscle, dermis and possibly other potentialities.

Morphogenetic cell movements in the middle region of the dermomyotome dorsomedial lip associated with patterning and growth of the primary epaxial myotome.

The morphogenetic cell movements responsible for growth and morphogenesis in vertebrate embryos are poorly understood. Myotome precursor cells undergo myotomal translocation; a key morphogenetic cell movement whereby myotomal precursor cells leave the dermomyotome epithelium and enter the subjacent myotome layer where myogenic differentiation ensues. The precursors to the embryonic epaxial myotome are concentrated in the dorsomedial lip (DML) of the somite dermomyotome (W. F. Denetclaw, B. Christ and C. P. Ordahl (1997) Development 124, 1601-1610), a finding recently substantiated through surgical transplantation studies (C. P. Ordahl, E. Berdougo, S. J. Venters and W. F. Denetclaw, Jr (2001) Development 128, 1731-1744). Confocal microscopy was used here to analyze the location and pattern of myotome cells whose precursors had earlier been labeled by fluorescent dye injection into the middle region of the DML, a site that maximizes the potential to discriminate among experimental outcomes. Double-dye injection experiments conducted at this site demonstrate that cells fated to form myotome do not involute around the recurved epithelium of the DML but rather are displaced laterally where they transiently intermingle with cells fated to enter the central epithelial sheet region of the dermomyotome. Time- and position-dependent labeling experiments demonstrated that myotome precursor cells translocate directly from the middle region of the DML without prior intra-epithelial 'translational' movements of precursor cells to either the cranial or caudal lips of the dermomyotome epithelium, nor were any such translational movements evident in these experiments. The morphogenetic cell movements demonstrated here to be involved in the directional growth and segmental patterning of the myotome and dermomyotome bear interesting similarities with those of other morphogenetic systems.

Fate restriction in limb muscle precursor cells precedes high-level expression of MyoD family member genes.

The mechanisms by which pluripotent embryonic cells generate unipotent tissue progenitor cells during development are unknown. Molecular/genetic experiments in cultured cells have led to the hypothesis that the product of a single member of the MyoD gene family (MDF) is necessary and sufficient to establish the positive aspects of the determined state of myogenic precursor cells: i.e., the ability to initiate and maintain the differentiated state (Weintraub, H., Davis, R., Tapscott, S., Thayer, M., Krause, M., Benezra, R., Blackwell, T. K., Turner, D., Rupp, R., Hollenberg, S. et al. (1991) Science 251, 761-766). Embryonic cell type determination also involves negative regulation, such as the restriction of developmental potential for alternative cell types, that is not directly addressed by the MDF model. In the experiments reported here, phenotypic restriction in myogenic precursor cells is assayed by an in vivo 'notochord challenge' to evaluate their potential to 'choose' between two alternative cell fate endpoints: cartilage and muscle (Williams, B. A. and Ordahl, C. P. (1997) Development 124, 4983-4997). Two separate myogenic precursor cell populations were found to be phenotypically restricted while expressing the Pax3 gene and prior to MDF gene activation. Therefore, while MDF family members act positively during myogenic differentiation, phenotypic restriction, the negative aspect of cell specification, requires cellular and molecular events and interactions that precede MDF expression in myogenic precursor cells. The qualities of muscle formed by the determined myogenic precursor cells in these experiments further indicate that their developmental potential is intermediate between that of myoblastic stem cells taken from fetal or adult tissue (which lack mitotic and morphogenetic potential when tested in vivo) and embryonic stem cells (which are multipotent). We hypothesize that such embryonic myogenic progenitor cells represent a distinct class of determined embryonic cell, one that is responsible for both tissue growth and tissue morphogenesis.

Dorsoventral axis determination in the somite: a re-examination.

We have repeated classic dorsoventral somite rotation experiments (Aoyama and Asamoto, 1988, Development 104, 15-28) and included dorsal and ventral gene expression markers for the somitogenic tissue types, myotome and sclerotome, respectively. While the histological results are consistent with those previously published, gene expression analysis indicates that cells previously thought to be 'sclerotome' no longer express Pax1 mRNA, a sclerotome marker. These results, together with recent quail-chick transplantation experiments indicating that even very late sclerotome tissue fragments are multipotential (Dockter and Ordahl, 1998, Development 125, 2113-2124), lead to the conclusion that sclerotome tissue remains phenotypically and morphogenetically plastic during early embryonic somitogenesis. Myotome precursor cells, by contrast, appear to be determined within hours after somite epithelization; a finding consistent with recent reports (Williams and Ordahl, 1997, Development 124, 4983-4997). Therefore, while these findings support a central conclusion of Aoyama and Asamoto, that axis determination begins to occur within hours after somite epithelialization, the identity of the responding tissues, myotome versus sclerotome, differs. A simple model proposed to reconcile these observations supports the general hypothesis that determinative aspects of early paraxial mesoderm growth and morphogenesis occur in early and late phases that are governed principally by the myotome and sclerotome, respectively.

The growth of the dermomyotome and formation of early myotome lineages in thoracolumbar somites of chicken embryos.

Myotome formation in the epaxial and hypaxial domains of thoraco-lumbar somites was analyzed using fluorescent vital dye labeling of dermomyotome cells and cell-fate assessment by confocal microscopy. Muscle precursor cells for the epaxial and hypaxial myotomes are predominantly located in the dorsomedial and ventrolateral dermomyotome lips, respectively, and expansion of the dermomyotome is greatest along its mediolateral axis coincident with the dorsalward and ventralward growth directions of the epaxial and hypaxial myotomes. Measurements of the dermomyotome at different stages of development shows that myotome growth begins earlier in the epaxial than in the hypaxial domain, but that after an initial lag phase, both progress at the same rate. A combination of dye injection and/or antibody labeling of early and late-expressed muscle contractile proteins confirms the myotome mediolateral growth directions, and shows that the myotome thickness increases in a superficial (near dermis) to deep (near sclerotome) growth direction. These findings also provide a basis for predicting the following gene expression sequence program for the earliest muscle precursor lineages in mouse embryos: Pax-3 (stem cells), myf-5 (myoblast cells) and myoD (myocytes). The movements and mitotic activity of early muscle precursor cells lead to the conclusion that patterning and growth in the myotome specifically, and in the epaxial and hypaxial domains of the body generally, are governed by morphogenetic cell movements.

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase binds with transcription enhancer factor 1 to MCAT1 elements to regulate muscle-specific transcription.

Striated muscle-specific expression of the cardiac troponin T (cTNT) gene is mediated through two MCAT elements that act via binding of transcription enhancer factor 1 (TEF-1) to the MCAT core motifs and binding of an auxiliary protein to nucleotides flanking the 5' side of the core motif. Using DNA-protein and protein-protein binding experiments, we identified a 140-kDa polypeptide that bound both the muscle-specific flanking sequences of the most distal MCAT1 element and TEF-1. Screening of an expression library with the MCAT1 element yielded a cDNA encoding a truncated form of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). Endogenous PARP from embryonic tissue nuclear extracts migrated as a 140-kDa protein. Recombinant full-length PARP preferentially bound the wild-type MCAT1 element and was shown to physically interact with TEF-1. In addition, endogenous TEF-1 could be coimmunoprecipitated with PARP from extracts of primary skeletal muscle cells. Recombinant PARP was able to ADP-ribosylate TEF-1 in vitro. Inhibition of the enzymatic activity of PARP repressed expression of an MCAT1-dependent reporter in transiently transfected primary muscle cells. Together, these data implicate PARP as the auxiliary protein that binds with TEF-1 to the MCAT1 element to provide muscle-specific gene transcription.

Knowing chops from chuck: roasting myoD redundancy.

The myf5 and myoD genes are implicated in the specification of vertebrate skeletal muscle. These genes have been thought to be functionally redundant because neonatal mice bearing homozygous null mutations in either gene show grossly normal muscle development. By analyzing the early embryonic development of the mutants, Michael Rudnicki and coworkers show that trunk muscle development is retarded in embryos bearing myf5 null mutations, while early limb and branchial arch muscle development is retarded by myoD null mutations. These results indicate that the myoD and myf5 genes are not redundant but that each controls the early specification of distinct muscle cell lineages.

Determination of sclerotome to the cartilage fate.

When the somite first forms the cells appear to be equivalent in potential. In order to understand the lineage diversification of the somite, the determination of sclerotome cells to the cartilage fate was tested using an in vivo challenge assay in which quail sclerotome fragments were grafted into a dorsal position in a chick host. Grafts containing undetermined cells were expected to differentiate into other tissues while grafts containing determined chondrocyte precursors were expected to consistently give rise to cartilage. We found that grafted sclerotome fragments from somite stages V-XX were capable of giving rise to integrated muscle and dermis and that it was not until fragments from stage XII somites were grafted that cartilage was consistently produced in the assay. Sclerotomal tissue from embryonic day 4-6 embryos remained as morphologically unintegrated mesenchyme when grafted into an embryonic day 2 host, but formed only cartilage when placed into an identically aged host. Vertebral body cartilage from embryonic day 7 and embryonic day 8 embryos formed exclusively ectopic cartilage in an embryonic day 2 host. We conclude that cells determined to the cartilage fate do not appear until somite stage XII, but that not all sclerotome cells are determined at this time. The effect of host age on the differentiation and morphogenetic behavior of sclerotome fragment grafts in this assay indicate the existence of developmental eras within the embryo.

Cell-specific promoter in adenovirus vector for transgenic expression of SERCA1 ATPase in cardiac myocytes.

Adenovirus-mediated transfer of cDNA encoding the chicken skeletal muscle sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA1) yielded selective expression in cultured chick embryo cardiac myocytes under control of a segment (-268 base pair) of the cell-specific cardiac troponin T (cTnT) promoter or nonselective expression in myocytes and fibroblasts under control of a constitutive viral [cytomegalovirus (CMV)] promoter. Under optimal conditions nearly all cardiac myocytes in culture were shown to express transgenic SERCA1 ATPase. Expression was targeted to intracellular membranes and was recovered in subcellular fractions with a pattern identical to that of the endogenous SERCA2a ATPase. Relative to control myocytes, transgenic SERCA1 expression increased up to four times the rates of ATP-dependent (and thapsigargin-sensitive) Ca2+ transport activity of cell homogenates. Although the CMV promoter was more active than the cTnT promoter, an upper limit for transgenic expression of functional enzyme was reached under control of either promoter by adjustment of the adenovirus plaque-forming unit titer of infection media. Cytosolic Ca2+ concentration transients and tension development of whole myocytes were also influenced to a similar limit by transgenic expression of SERCA1 under control of either promoter. Our experiments demonstrate that a cell-specific protein promoter in recombinant adenovirus vectors yields highly efficient and selective transgene expression of a membrane-bound and functional enzyme in cardiac myocytes.

Common epicardial origin of coronary vascular smooth muscle, perivascular fibroblasts, and intermyocardial fibroblasts in the avian heart.

Previous studies have shown that during avian heart development, epicardial and coronary vascular smooth muscle precursors are derived from the proepicardium, a derivative of the developing liver. This finding led to a model of coronary vascular development in which epicardial cells migrate over the postlooped heart, followed by migration of committed endothelial and smooth muscle precursors from the proepicardium through the subepicardial matrix where the coronary arteries develop. Here we show that epicardial cells undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transformation to become coronary vascular smooth muscle, perivascular fibroblasts, and intermyocardial fibroblasts. We began by establishing primary cultures of quail epicardial cells that retain morphologic and antigenic identity to epicardial cells in vivo. Quail epicardial monolayers stimulated with serum or vascular growth factors produced invasive mesenchyme in collagen gels. Chick epicardial cells labeled in ovo with DiI invaded the subepicardial extracellular matrix, demonstrating that mesenchymal transformation of epicardium occurs in vivo. To determine the fates of epicardially derived mesenchymal cells, quail epicardial cells labeled in vitro with LacZ were grafted into the pericardial space of E2 chicks. These cells attached to the heart, formed a chimeric epicardium, invaded the subepicardial matrix and myocardial wall, and became coronary vascular smooth muscle, perivascular fibroblasts, and intermyocardial fibroblasts, demonstrating the common epicardial origin of these cell types. A general model of coronary vascular development should now include epicardial-mesenchymal transformation and direct participation of mesenchyme derived from the epicardium in coronary morphogenesis.

ATPase gene transfer and mutational analysis of the cation translocation mechanism.

The peptide segment interposed between cation binding and phosphorylation domains retains a high degree of homology in all cation transport ATPases. Mutational analysis and chimeric replacements of Ca2+ ATPase components with corresponding Na+,K(+)-ATPase components indicate that this segment is utilized by various cation ATPases as a common structural device for a long-range functional linkage of enzyme phosphorylation and cation transport. Vectorial displacement of bound cation is rendered possible by a transmembrane channel formed by four clustered helices (M4, M5, M6, and M8). Originating from the four helices, the oxygen functions of Glu309, Glu771, Thr799, Asp800, and Glu908 form a duplex Ca2+ binding site in the middle of the channel, while Lys297 seals the luminal end of the channel with its positively charged side chain. The perturbation triggered by enzyme phosphorylation is apparently transmitted through the linkage segment to produce rotational displacement of the M4 helix with minimal change of secondary structure. The cation binding site is thereby disrupted and the Lys297 side chain removed, permitting Ca2+ to dissociate in exchange for H+ and to flow through the luminal end of the channel.

Emergence of determined myotome precursor cells in the somite.

Myotome and sclerotome precursor cells are derived, respectively, from cells in the dorsomedial and ventromedial regions of the somite. To assay changes in the specification of myotomal precursor cells during somite maturation, we implanted dorsomedial quadrant fragments, from staged quail somites, next to the notochords of host chick embryos, and superimposed two additional notochords on these implants. In this notochord signalling environment, dorsomedial quadrant cells that are developmentally plastic are expected to differentiate as cartilage, while cells determined to a myogenic fate are expected to differentiate as skeletal muscle. Large numbers of differentiated chondrocytes developed from dorsomedial quadrant grafts of all stages of paraxial mesoderm development tested, indicating that persistent chondrogenic potential in cells fated to form muscle and dermis can be elicited by notochord signals. Differentiated myocytes, however, appeared in two somite-stage-dependent phases. In the first phase, dorsomedial quadrants from segmental plate and early stage somites (II and IV) form small, disorganized clusters of individual myocytes. The frequency of first-phase myocluster formation increases as myogenic factor expression begins in the dorsomedial quadrant, indicating that myogenic determination assayed by this method is closely linked to the expression of myogenic factors in the dorsomedial quadrant. In the second phase, dorsomedial quadrants from somite stages XI-XIII consistently form morphologically organized muscle tissue containing large numbers of parallel-oriented, multinucleated myotubes. Mitotic labelling demonstrated that muscle precursors were determined to the muscle phenotype prior to withdrawal from the cell cycle. Thus, myogenic determination in cells of the dorsomedial quadrant is acquired at earlier stages of somite maturation than the ability to proliferate and form muscle tissue. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that successive lineages of myotome precursor cells with different mitotic and morphogenetic properties arise in the dorsomedial quadrant during somite maturation.

The fate of the first avian somite.

We have studied the derivatives of the first somite using the quail-chick marking technique. After transplantation of the somite, the chick embryos were reincubated for periods ranging from 4 h to 11 days. Coronal and sagittal sections of the embryos were prepared for parallel staining with Feulgen-reaction, anti-quail antibody, anti-desmin antibody and QH-1 antibody. The first somite consists of an epithelial envelope surrounding somitocoele cells. Like other somites, it forms sclerotome, dermatome and myotome. Cells contribute to the occipital and parasphenoid bone, the meninges, the dermis in the occipital region and the pharyngeal connective tissue. The contribution of the first somite to bones, meninges, dermis and pharyngeal connective tissue is characterised by sharp anterior and posterior boundaries. In contrast, other derivatives such as connective tissue surrounding the vagus nerve, the carotid artery, and jugular vein exceed 10 to 18 segments. This is also true for myogenic cells participating in the formation of the cucullaris capitis muscle that extends from the temporal bone to the shoulder. In one third of the embryos, myocytes of the intrinsic laryngeal muscles are derived from the grafted first somite. Moreover, endothelial cells originate from this somite and migrate into the head (hind-brain, meninges, dermis), neck (pharynx, connective tissue surrounding the vagus nerve, carotid artery and jugular vein) and thorax. With respect to differentiation and derivatives the first somite is similar to other somites.

Location and growth of epaxial myotome precursor cells.

The skeletal muscle progenitor cells of the vertebrate body originate in the dermomyotome epithelium of the embryonic somites. To precisely locate myotome precursor cells, fluorescent vital dyes were iontophoretically injected at specific sites in the dermomyotome in ovo and the fates of dye-labeled cells monitored by confocal microscopy. Dye-labeled myotome myofibers were generated from cells injected along the entire medial boundary and the medial portion of the cranial boundary of the dermomyotome, regions in close proximity to the dorsal region of the neural tube where myogenic-inducing factors are thought to be produced. Other injected regions of the dermomyotome did not give rise to myotome fibers. Analysis of nascent myotome fibers showed that they elongate along the embryonic axis in cranial and caudal directions, or in both directions simultaneously, until they reach the margins of the dermomyotome. Finally, deposition of myotome fibers and expansion of the dermomyotome epithelium occurs in a lateral-to-medial direction. This new model for early myotome formation has implications for myogenic specification and for growth of the epaxial domain during early embryonic development.

Troponin T gene switching is developmentally regulated by plasma-borne factors in parabiotic chicks.

Myogenesis involves a conserved program of muscle gene isoform switching requiring the synchronized induction and repression of numerous muscle-specific gene family members. Central to understanding the regulation of this process are questions related to the origin and transmission of regulatory signals to the myofiber. We show here that troponin T gene switching can be precociously initiated by extrinsic blood-borne components but also requires other mechanisms that are regulated locally, intrinsically, or posttranscriptionally. We established a chimeric blood circulation by parabiosis between fetal chicks and quails to determine whether signals inducing earlier troponin T mRNA isoform switching in quails could be transduced to chick partners through the serum. While quail fetuses were unaffected by parabiosis, quail serum caused premature troponin T iso-mRNA switching in chick muscle, although initiation remained later than in quails. The onset of repression of a known innervation-dependent acetylcholine receptor mRNA did not coincide with the initiation of troponin T iso-mRNA switching and was not affected by parabiosis. These results support serum-borne factor regulation of isoform switching as an important and distinct mechanism relevant to understanding how extrinsic and intrinsic cues are integrated during muscle differentiation and development.

Flanking sequences modulate the cell specificity of M-CAT elements.

M-CAT elements mediate both muscle-specific and non-muscle-specific transcription. We used artificial promoters to dissect M-CAT elements derived from the cardiac troponin T promoter, whose regulation is highly striated muscle specific. We show that muscle-specific M-CAT-dependent expression requires two distinct components: the core heptameric M-CAT motif (5'-CATTCCT-3'), which constitutes the canonical binding site for TEF-1-related proteins, and specific sequences immediately flanking the core motif that bind an additional factor(s). These factors are found in higher-order M-CAT DNA-protein complexes with TEF-1 proteins. Non-muscle-specific promoters are produced when the sequences flanking the M-CAT motif are removed or modified to match those of non-muscle-specific promoters such as the simian virus 40 promoter. Moreover, a mutation of the 5'-flanking region of the cardiac troponin T M-CAT-1 element upregulated expression in nonmuscle cells. That mutation also disrupts a potential E box that apparently does not bind myogenic basic helix-loop-helix proteins. We propose a model in which M-CAT motifs are potentially active in many cell types but are modulated through protein binding to specific flanking sequences. In nonmuscle cells, these flanking sequences bind a factor(s) that represses M-CAT-dependent activity. In muscle cells, on the other hand, the factor(s) binding to these flanking sequences contributes to both the cell specificity and the overall transcriptional strength of M-CAT-dependent promoters.

DTEF-1, a novel member of the transcription enhancer factor-1 (TEF-1) multigene family.

M-CAT motifs mediate muscle-specific transcriptional activity via interaction with binding factors that are antigenically and biochemically related to vertebrate transcription enhancer factor-1 (TEF-1), a member of the TEA/ATTS domain family of transcription factors. M-CAT binding activities present in cardiac and skeletal muscle tissues cannot be fully accounted for by existing cloned isoforms of TEF-1. TEF-1-related cDNAs isolated from heart libraries indicate that at least three classes of TEF-1-related cDNAs are expressed in these and other tissues. One class are homologues of the human TEF-1 originally cloned from HeLa cells (Xiao, J. H., Davidson, I., Matthes, H., Garnier, J. M., and Chambon, P. (1991) Cell 65, 551-568). A second class represents homologues of the avian TEF-1-related gene previously isolated (Stewart, A. F., Larkin, S. B., Farrance, I. K., Mar, J. H., Hall, D. E., and Ordahl, C. P. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 3147-3150). The third class consists of a novel, divergent TEF-1 cDNA, named DTEF-1, and its preliminary characterization is described here. Two isoforms of DTEF-1 (DTEF-1A and DTEF-1B) were isolated as 1.9-kilobase pair clones with putative open reading frames of 433 and 432 amino acids whose differences are attributable to alternative splicing at the C terminus of the TEA DNA binding domain. Cardiac muscle contains high levels of DTEF-1 transcripts, but unexpectedly low levels are detected in skeletal muscle. DTEF-1 transcripts are present at intermediate levels in gizzard and lung, and at low levels in kidney. DTEF-1A is a sequence-specific M-CAT-binding factor. The distinct spatial pattern of expression, and unusual amino acid sequence in its DNA binding domain, may indicate a particular role for DTEF-1 in cell-specific gene regulation. Recent work also suggests that at least one more TEF-1-related gene exists in vertebrates. We propose a naming system for the four TEF-1 gene family members identified to date that preserves existing nomenclature and provides a means for extending that nomenclature as additional family members may be identified.