Expression of c‐jun/AP‐1 during myogenic differentiation in mouse C2C12 myoblasts

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Abstract
Mitogen withdrawal triggers myogenic differentiation in skeletal myoblasts in culture. We have examined the expression of the proto‐oncogene c‐jun during this process in mouse C2C12 myoblasts. c‐jun belongs to a family of immediate early genes whose expression is activated in cultured cells in response to the addition of serum growth factors. Interestingly, expression of c‐jun was maintained in mouse C2C12 and rat L6 myoblasts undergoing myogenic differentiation under low‐serum conditions. Previously it has been reported that expression of c‐jun is downregulated during differentiation of C2 cells. However, our results using C2C12 cells, a subclone of the C2 line, show that c‐jun mRNA, protein and the activator‐protein 1 (AP‐1) DNA‐binding activity were easily detected in proliferating myoblasts and differentiated myotubes. Although overexpression of c‐jun has been shown to block myogenic differentiation in C2 cells, results presented here suggest that expression of c‐jun at physiological levels may not interfere with skeletal myogenesis.