RING finger protein 13 (RNF13) is a newly identified E3 ligase reported to be functionally significant in the regulation of cancer development, muscle cell growth, and neuronal development. In this study, the function of RNF13 in cardiotoxin-induced skeletal muscle regeneration was investigated using RNF13-knockout mice. RNF13(-/-) mice exhibited enhanced muscle regeneration-characterized by accelerated satellite cell proliferation-compared with wild-type mice. The expression of RNF13 was remarkably induced in macrophages rather than in the satellite cells of wild-type mice at the very early stage of muscle damage. This result indicated that inflammatory cells are important in RNF13-mediated satellite cell functions. The cytokine levels in skeletal muscles were further analyzed and showed that RNF13(-/-) mice produced greater amounts of various cytokines than wild-type mice. Among these, IL-4 and IL-6 levels significantly increased in RNF13(-/-) mice. The accelerated muscle regeneration phenotype was abrogated by inhibiting IL-4/IL-6 action in RNF13(-/-) mice with blocking antibodies. These results indicate that RNF13 deficiency promotes skeletal muscle regeneration via the effects on satellite cell niche mediated by IL-4 and IL-6.
Animals ; Cell Proliferation ; Inflammation ; pathology ; Interleukin-4 ; metabolism ; Interleukin-6 ; metabolism ; Macrophages ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Knockout ; Muscle, Skeletal ; metabolism ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Regeneration ; Satellite Cells, Skeletal Muscle ; metabolism ; pathology ; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases ; deficiency ; metabolism