Ho, U.Y., Shohayeb, B., Kamei, H. et al. WDR62 is required for proper proliferation and early differentiation of skeletal myoblasts. Commun Biol (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-09537-7
Abstract:
WDR62, a centrosome and microtubule associated protein, regulates mitotic spindle formation
and centrosome integrity in progenitor cells during development. While its role in neural
progenitor differentiation is known, its function in myogenesis remains unclear. Here, we show
that WDR62 deficient mice possess smaller skeletal muscles. Following cardiotoxin injury to the tibialis anterior muscle, WDR62 deficient mice show normal satellite cell activation, but display a
higher percentage of immature myofibers at day 7 post injury, suggesting premature
differentiation. In Drosophila larvae, Wdr62 knockdown in the wing disc increases asymmetric
myoblast division resulting in premature differentiation. In C2C12 mouse myoblasts, WDR62 loss
leads to decreased myoblast proliferation due to increased centriole numbers and centriole
cohesion, and a slight increase in myoblast fusion at day 3 differentiation, which supports
premature differentiation. These data implicate WDR62 in maintaining centrosome integrity that
is critical for myoblast proliferation and preventing premature differentiation during early stages
of myogenesis.
License type:
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Funding Info:
This research / project is supported by the NHMRC Australia (GNT1162652) - NA
Grant Reference no. : NA