Regulation of myogenic gene expression

Skeletal muscle development and regeneration is governed by the combined action of Myf5, MyoD, Mrf4 and MyoG, also known as the myogenic regulatory factors (MRFs). These transcription factors are expressed in a highly spatio-temporal restricted manner, ensuring the significant functional and metabolic diversity observed between the different muscle groups. In this review, we will discuss the multiple layers of regulation that contribute to the control of the exquisite expression patterns of the MRFs in particular, and of myogenic genes in general. We will highlight all major regulatory processes that play a role in myogenesis: from those that modulate chromatin status and transcription competence, such as DNA methylation, histone modification, chromatin remodeling, or non-coding RNAs, to those that control transcript and protein processing and modification, such as alternative splicing, polyadenylation, other mRNA modifications, or post-translational protein modifications. All these processes are exquisitely and tightly coordinated to ensure the proper activation, maintenance and termination of the myogenic process.