Role of activating Protein 1 in skeletal myogenesis

在拟议的工作中，我们试图了解哺乳动物骨骼肌细胞发育的潜在事件。细胞要成为特化的肌肉细胞，需要表达一组特定的基因，这些基因是细胞能够具有特化功能所必需的，比如能够收缩（允许运动），对神经系统的神经冲动做出反应（运动的自主控制），以及作为葡萄糖储存库的功能（代谢控制）。为了调节这些“肌肉特异性”基因的表达，细胞核中有一种叫做转录因子的蛋白质，它决定了哪些基因被表达（转录）。这些蛋白质通过直接结合DNA中的控制区域发挥作用。在我们的研究中，我们对一种叫做Fra2的蛋白质特别感兴趣，它的功能是作为转录调节器。迄今为止，我们的研究表明，Fra2可能是控制骨骼肌形成的转录因子网络的重要组成部分。因此，我们的研究旨在了解Fra2如何与其他因素一起调节转录，以及Fra2在基因组中特异性靶向哪些基因。因此，我们将使用最先进的基因组分析方法来阐明肌肉细胞中Fra2蛋白的功能。

In the proposed work we are attempting to understand the events underlying the development of cells that give rise to skeletal muscle in mammals. The commitment of cells to become specialized as muscle cells requires a particular set of genes to be expressed which are required for these cells to be able to have specialized functions such as being able to contract (allowing movement), to respond to nerve impulses from the nervous system (voluntary control of movement) and to function as a depot for the storage of glucose (metabolic control). In order to regulate the expression of these "muscle-specific" genes there are proteins in the nucleus called transcription factors which determine which genes are expressed (transcribed). These proteins function by directly binding to control regions in DNA. In our studies we are particularly interested in a protein called Fra2 which functions in this capacity as a regulator of transcription. Our studies to date indicate that Fra2 may be an important part of a network of transcription factors controlling the formation of skeletal muscle. Our studies are thus aimed at understanding how Fra2 regulates transcription in association with other factors, and also which genes Fra2 specifically targets in the genome. We will therefore use state of the art approaches in genome analysis to elucidate the function of the Fra2 protein in muscle cells.