Dysregulated gene expression in Mef2a knockout mice subjected to cardiotoxin-induced muscle injury

We identified genes expressed in mouse skeletal muscle, during the process of muscle regeneration after injury, which are dysregulated in the absence of Mef2a expression. MEF2A is a member of the evolutionarily conserved MEF2 transcription factor family which has known roles in cardiac muscle development and function, but is not well studied in skeletal muscle. We performed a comparison of gene expression profiles in wild type and MEF2A knockout tibialis anterior muscle, seven days post-injury with cardiotoxin. The results indicated that a variety of genes expressed during muscle regeneration, predominantly microRNAs in the Gtl2-Dio3 locus, are dysregulated by the loss of MEF2A expression.

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Snyder CM, Rice AL, Estrella NL, Held A, Kandarian SC, Naya FJ