Akirin Is Required for Muscle Function and Acts Through the TGF-β Sma/Mab Signaling Pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans Development

Richard Bowman; Nathan Balukoff; Amy Clemons; Emily Koury; Talitha Ford; Kunal Baxi; Carlos Egydio de Carvalho; Sarit Smolikove

doi:10.1534/g3.119.400377

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Akirin Is Required for Muscle Function and Acts Through the TGF-β Sma/Mab Signaling Pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans Development

Journal article

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Akirin Is Required for Muscle Function and Acts Through the TGF-β Sma/Mab Signaling Pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans Development

Richard Bowman, Nathan Balukoff, Amy Clemons, Emily Koury, Talitha Ford, Kunal Baxi, Carlos Egydio de Carvalho and Sarit Smolikove

G3 (Bethesda, Md.), Vol.10(1), pp.387-400

01/07/2020

DOI: 10.1534/g3.119.400377

PMCID: PMC6945016

PMID: 31767636

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Abstract

Akirin, a conserved metazoan protein, functions in muscle development in flies and mice. However, this was only tested in the rodent and fly model systems. Akirin was shown to act with chromatin remodeling complexes in transcription and was established as a downstream target of the NFκB pathway. Here we show a role for Akirin/AKIR-1 in the muscle and body length regulation through a different pathway. Akirin localizes to somatic tissues throughout the body of , including muscle nuclei. In agreement with its role in other model systems, Akirin loss of function mutants exhibit defects in muscle development in the embryo, as well as defects in movement and maintenance of muscle integrity in the adult. We also have determined that Akirin acts downstream of the TGF-β Sma/Mab signaling pathway in controlling body size. Moreover, we found that the loss of Akirin resulted in an increase in autophagy markers, similar to mutants in the TGF-β Sma/Mab signaling pathway. In contrast to what is known in rodent and fly models, Akirin does not act with the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex, and is instead involved with the NuRD chromatin remodeling complex in both movement and regulation of body size. Our studies define a novel developmental role (body size) and a new pathway (TGF-β Sma/Mab) for Akirin function, and confirmed its evolutionarily conserved function in muscle development in a new organism.

Akirin

AKIR-1

TGF-β

C. elegans

Sma/Mab

Details

Title: Subtitle: Akirin Is Required for Muscle Function and Acts Through the TGF-β Sma/Mab Signaling Pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans Development
Creators: Richard Bowman - Department of Biology University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52240 and
Nathan Balukoff - Department of Biology University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52240 and
Amy Clemons - Department of Biology University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52240 and
Emily Koury - Department of Biology University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52240 and
Talitha Ford - Department of Biology University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52240 and
Kunal Baxi - Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E2
Carlos Egydio de Carvalho - Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E2
Sarit Smolikove - Department of Biology University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52240 and sarit-smolikove@uiowa.edu
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: G3 (Bethesda, Md.), Vol.10(1), pp.387-400
DOI: 10.1534/g3.119.400377
PMID: 31767636
PMCID: PMC6945016
NLM abbreviation: G3 (Bethesda)
ISSN: 2160-1836
eISSN: 2160-1836
Grant note: P40 OD010440 / NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 01/07/2020
Academic Unit: Biology
Record Identifier: 9984217421202771

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