Proteome dynamics reveal Leiomodin 1 as a key regulator of myogenic differentiation

During myogenic differentiation the cellular architecture and proteome of muscle stem cells and myoblasts undergo extensive remodeling. These molecular processes are only partially understood and display alterations in disease conditions as well as during aging resulting in impaired regeneration. Here, we used mass spectrometry to quantify the temporal dynamics of more than 6000 proteins during myogenic differentiation. We identified the actin nucleator leiomodin 1 (LMOD1) among a restricted subset of cytoskeletal proteins increasing in abundance in early phases of myogenic differentiation. We show that LMOD1 is already expressed by muscle stem cells in vivo and displays increased abundance during skeletal muscle regeneration, especially during early regeneration suggesting that LMOD1 is important for induction of myotube formation. Of note, knockdown of LMOD1 in primary myoblasts and during skeletal muscle regeneration severely affects myogenic differentiation, while overexpression accelerates and improves the initiation of myotube formation suggesting that LMOD1 is a critical component regulating myogenic differentiation. Mechanistically, we show that LMOD1 physically and functionally interacts with the deacetylase sirtuin1 (SIRT1), a regulator of myogenic differentiation, especially at the onset of myogenic differentiation. We demonstrate that LMOD1 influences SIRT1 localization and the expression of a subset of its target genes. Consistently, depletion or pharmacological inhibition of SIRT1 partially rescues the impairment of myogenic differentiation observed after knockdown of LMOD1. Our work identifies a new regulator of myogenic differentiation that might be targeted to improve muscle regeneration in aging and disease.