PSVII-36 Examining the effect of a physiological dose of the polyamine; spermine, on myogenic regulatory transcription factor expression

Abstract

Abstract Examining the effect of a physiological dose of the polyamine; spermine, on myogenic regulatory transcription factor expression. Spermine is a micronutrient derived from amino acids. It affects cell growth, proliferation, differentiation and gene regulation in many cell types. Polyamines have long been overlooked with respect to their biological effects on muscle growth. Myogenic regulatory factors (myoD, myf5) initiate, promote and regulate myogenesis. Supporting myogenic transcription factors transcription and by such enhancing muscle production in livestock, through nutrition may be possible with dietary spermine supplementation. We examined the effect of spermine (0.5mM) in undifferentiated c2c12 muscle cells at two time points (8hr and 16hr). Using TaqMan-MGB qRT-PCR we quantified mRNA for key myogenic regulatory factors in a minimum of three experiments each containing 3 technical replicates. We report a significant increase in myoD (P = 0.02) and myf5 (P = 0.05) mRNA at 8hr following spermine treatment as compared to controls (no spermine). After 16 hr exposure to spermine (0.5mM) treatment myoD (P = 0.01) remained significantly different from controls. Our results indicate that spermine supports myogenesis through expression of increased myogenic regulatory factors at early stages of myogenesis. These findings support the need to further test the hypothesis that spermine promotes increased muscle growth and ultimately may represent a dietary means to maximize muscle growth in livestock species.