Effects of Mettl21c and Carnosine on the Proliferation and Differentiation of Ovine Myoblasts
4 affiliations
- 1Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding on the Tibetan Plateau, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Lanzhou Institute of Husbandry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730050, China
- 2Sheep Breeding Engineering Technology Research Center of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730050, China
- 3School of Life Sciences and Engineering, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou 730030, China
- 4Qilian Tibetan Sheep Industry Development Research Institute of Qinghai Province, Qilian 810400, China
Abstract
The proliferation and differentiation of myoblasts, as key regulatory processes for skeletal muscle growth, development, and in vivo balance, directly affect the economic value of livestock and poultry. Based on this, we examined the effects of Mettl21c (methyltransferase-like 21C) and carnosine (β-alanyl-L-histidine) on the proliferation and differentiation of ovine myoblasts. In this system, during the proliferation phase, Mettl21c overexpression reduced the EdU-positive cell rate and increased the apoptosis rate (p < 0.05), whereas interference had the opposite effect. These results indicate that Mettl21c inhibits myoblast proliferation and promotes apoptosis. At the transcript level, Mettl21c overexpression decreased Pax7 mRNA (progenitor marker) and increased Myf5, Myod1, and Myog mRNAs (MRFs, stage-specific myogenic markers). However, at the protein level, PAX7 increased while MYF5, MYOD1, and MYOG decreased. During the differentiation phase, interference with Mettl21c significantly reduced the cell fusion index and total myotube area (p < 0.05) while overexpression promoted these processes, indicating that Mettl21c promotes myoblast differentiation. At the same time, 1–2 mM carnosine was found to positively regulate myoblast proliferation, and carnosine increased the fusion index at 2 mM and total myotube area at 1–10 mM, which also positively regulated myoblast differentiation. However, Mettl21c perturbation altered the transcript levels of carnosine-metabolism genes (Carns1 and Cndp2), and carnosine treatment induced non-monotonic changes in Mettl21c mRNA expression. In summary, in primary ovine myoblasts, Mettl21c inhibits the proliferation of myoblasts and promotes their differentiation, while carnosine supplementation positively regulates both processes. Intracellular carnosine content and a functional interaction between Mettl21c and carnosine were not assessed in this study. These in vitro findings identify Mettl21c and carnosine as candidates for further studies of ovine myogenesis and muscle growth.
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BibTeX
@article{kong2026effects,
title = {{Effects of Mettl21c and Carnosine on the Proliferation and Differentiation of Ovine Myoblasts}},
author = {Lingying Kong and Chao Yuan and Bowen Chen and Tingting Guo and Fan Wang and Wenhao Li and Zengkui Lu and Jianbin Liu},
journal = {Biomolecules},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3390/biom16111628},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/16/11/1628},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Effects of Mettl21c and Carnosine on the Proliferation and Differentiation of Ovine Myoblasts
AU - Lingying Kong
AU - Chao Yuan
AU - Bowen Chen
AU - Tingting Guo
AU - Fan Wang
AU - Wenhao Li
AU - Zengkui Lu
AU - Jianbin Liu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/08
JO - Biomolecules
DO - 10.3390/biom16111628
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/16/11/1628
AB - The proliferation and differentiation of myoblasts, as key regulatory processes for skeletal muscle growth, development, and in vivo balance, directly affect the economic value of livestock and poultry. Based on this, we examined the effects of Mettl21c (methyltransferase-like 21C) and carnosine (β-alanyl-L-histidine) on the proliferation and differentiation of ovine myoblasts. In this system, during the proliferation phase, Mettl21c overexpression reduced the EdU-positive cell rate and increased the apoptosis rate (p < 0.05), whereas interference had the opposite effect. These results indicate that Mettl21c inhibits myoblast proliferation and promotes apoptosis. At the transcript level, Mettl21c overexpression decreased Pax7 mRNA (progenitor marker) and increased Myf5, Myod1, and Myog mRNAs (MRFs, stage-specific myogenic markers). However, at the protein level, PAX7 increased while MYF5, MYOD1, and MYOG decreased. During the differentiation phase, interference with Mettl21c significantly reduced the cell fusion index and total myotube area (p < 0.05) while overexpression promoted these processes, indicating that Mettl21c promotes myoblast differentiation. At the same time, 1–2 mM carnosine was found to positively regulate myoblast proliferation, and carnosine increased the fusion index at 2 mM and total myotube area at 1–10 mM, which also positively regulated myoblast differentiation. However, Mettl21c perturbation altered the transcript levels of carnosine-metabolism genes (Carns1 and Cndp2), and carnosine treatment induced non-monotonic changes in Mettl21c mRNA expression. In summary, in primary ovine myoblasts, Mettl21c inhibits the proliferation of myoblasts and promotes their differentiation, while carnosine supplementation positively regulates both processes. Intracellular carnosine content and a functional interaction between Mettl21c and carnosine were not assessed in this study. These in vitro findings identify Mettl21c and carnosine as candidates for further studies of ovine myogenesis and muscle growth.
SN - 2218-273X
ER -