| First Author | Spencer JA | Year | 2000 |
| Journal | J Cell Biol | Volume | 150 |
| Issue | 4 | Pages | 771-84 |
| PubMed ID | 10953002 | Mgi Jnum | J:63980 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:1888564 | Doi | 10.1083/jcb.150.4.771 |
| Citation | Spencer JA, et al. (2000) Regulation of microtubule dynamics and myogenic differentiation by MURF, a striated muscle RING-finger protein. J Cell Biol 150(4):771-84 |
| abstractText | The RING-finger domain is a novel zinc-binding Cys-His protein motif found in a growing number of proteins involved in signal transduction, ubiquitination, gene transcription, differentiation, and morphogenesis. We describe a novel muscle-specific RING-finger protein (MURF) expressed specifically in cardiac and skeletal muscle cells throughout pre- and postnatal mouse development. MURF belongs to the RING-B-box-coiled-coil subclass of RING-finger proteins, characterized by an NH(2)-terminal RING-finger followed by a zinc-finger domain (B-box) and a leucine-rich coiled-coil domain. Expression of MURF is required for skeletal myoblast differentiation and myotube fusion. The leucine-rich coiled-coil domain of MURF mediates association with microtubules, whereas the RING-finger domain is required for microtubule stabilization and an additional region is required for homo-oligomerization. Expression of MURF establishes a cellular microtubule network that is resistant to microtubule depolymerization induced by alkaloids, cold and calcium. These results identify MURF as a myogenic regulator of the microtubule network of striated muscle cells and reveal a link between microtubule organization and myogenesis. |
