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Claus C, Slavin M, Ansseau E, Lancelot C, Bah K, Lassche S, Fiévet M, Greco A, Tomaiuolo S, Tassin A, Dudome V, Kusters B, Declèves AE, Laoudj-Chenivesse D, van Engelen BGM, Nonclercq D, Belayew A, Kalisman N, Coppée F. The double homeodomain protein DUX4c is associated with regenerating muscle fibers and RNA-binding proteins. Skelet Muscle 2023; 13:5. [PMID: 36882853 PMCID: PMC9990282 DOI: 10.1186/s13395-022-00310-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 03/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND We have previously demonstrated that double homeobox 4 centromeric (DUX4C) encoded for a functional DUX4c protein upregulated in dystrophic skeletal muscles. Based on gain- and loss-of-function studies we have proposed DUX4c involvement in muscle regeneration. Here, we provide further evidence for such a role in skeletal muscles from patients affected with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). METHODS DUX4c was studied at RNA and protein levels in FSHD muscle cell cultures and biopsies. Its protein partners were co-purified and identified by mass spectrometry. Endogenous DUX4c was detected in FSHD muscle sections with either its partners or regeneration markers using co-immunofluorescence or in situ proximity ligation assay. RESULTS We identified new alternatively spliced DUX4C transcripts and confirmed DUX4c immunodetection in rare FSHD muscle cells in primary culture. DUX4c was detected in nuclei, cytoplasm or at cell-cell contacts between myocytes and interacted sporadically with specific RNA-binding proteins involved, a.o., in muscle differentiation, repair, and mass maintenance. In FSHD muscle sections, DUX4c was found in fibers with unusual shape or central/delocalized nuclei (a regeneration feature) staining for developmental myosin heavy chain, MYOD or presenting intense desmin labeling. Some couples of myocytes/fibers locally exhibited peripheral DUX4c-positive areas that were very close to each other, but in distinct cells. MYOD or intense desmin staining at these locations suggested an imminent muscle cell fusion. We further demonstrated DUX4c interaction with its major protein partner, C1qBP, inside myocytes/myofibers that presented features of regeneration. On adjacent muscle sections, we could unexpectedly detect DUX4 (the FSHD causal protein) and its interaction with C1qBP in fusing myocytes/fibers. CONCLUSIONS DUX4c upregulation in FSHD muscles suggests it contributes not only to the pathology but also, based on its protein partners and specific markers, to attempts at muscle regeneration. The presence of both DUX4 and DUX4c in regenerating FSHD muscle cells suggests DUX4 could compete with normal DUX4c functions, thus explaining why skeletal muscle is particularly sensitive to DUX4 toxicity. Caution should be exerted with therapeutic agents aiming for DUX4 suppression because they might also repress the highly similar DUX4c and interfere with its physiological role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clothilde Claus
- Laboratory of Metabolic and Molecular Biochemistry, Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, University of Mons, 6, Avenue du Champs de Mars, B-7000, Mons, Belgium
| | - Moriya Slavin
- Department of Biological Chemistry, the Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Eugénie Ansseau
- Laboratory of Metabolic and Molecular Biochemistry, Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, University of Mons, 6, Avenue du Champs de Mars, B-7000, Mons, Belgium
| | - Céline Lancelot
- Laboratory of Metabolic and Molecular Biochemistry, Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, University of Mons, 6, Avenue du Champs de Mars, B-7000, Mons, Belgium
| | - Karimatou Bah
- Laboratory of Metabolic and Molecular Biochemistry, Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, University of Mons, 6, Avenue du Champs de Mars, B-7000, Mons, Belgium
| | - Saskia Lassche
- Department of Neurology, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Department of Neurology, Zuyderland Medical Center, Heerlen, the Netherlands
| | - Manon Fiévet
- Laboratory of Metabolic and Molecular Biochemistry, Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, University of Mons, 6, Avenue du Champs de Mars, B-7000, Mons, Belgium
| | - Anna Greco
- Department of Neurology, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Sara Tomaiuolo
- Laboratory of Metabolic and Molecular Biochemistry, Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, University of Mons, 6, Avenue du Champs de Mars, B-7000, Mons, Belgium
| | - Alexandra Tassin
- Laboratory of Metabolic and Molecular Biochemistry, Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, University of Mons, 6, Avenue du Champs de Mars, B-7000, Mons, Belgium.,Laboratory of Respiratory Physiology and Rehabilitation, Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, University of Mons, 6, Avenue du Champs de Mars, B-7000, Mons, Belgium
| | - Virginie Dudome
- Laboratory of Metabolic and Molecular Biochemistry, Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, University of Mons, 6, Avenue du Champs de Mars, B-7000, Mons, Belgium
| | - Benno Kusters
- Department of Pathology, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Anne-Emilie Declèves
- Laboratory of Metabolic and Molecular Biochemistry, Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, University of Mons, 6, Avenue du Champs de Mars, B-7000, Mons, Belgium
| | | | - Baziel G M van Engelen
- Department of Neurology, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Denis Nonclercq
- Laboratory of Histology, Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, University of Mons, 6, Avenue du Champs de Mars, B-7000, Mons, Belgium
| | - Alexandra Belayew
- Laboratory of Metabolic and Molecular Biochemistry, Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, University of Mons, 6, Avenue du Champs de Mars, B-7000, Mons, Belgium
| | - Nir Kalisman
- Department of Biological Chemistry, the Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Frédérique Coppée
- Laboratory of Metabolic and Molecular Biochemistry, Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, University of Mons, 6, Avenue du Champs de Mars, B-7000, Mons, Belgium.
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