Skeletal muscle stem cells (MuSCs) are required for regeneration of adult muscle following injury, a response that demands activation of mainly quiescent MuSCs. Despite the need for dynamic regulation of MuSC quiescence, relatively little is known about the determinants of this property. Here, we show that Suv4-20h1, an H4K20 dimethyltransferase, controls MuSC quiescence by promoting formation of facultative heterochromatin (fHC). Deletion of Suv4-20h1 reduces fHC and induces transcriptional activation and repositioning of the MyoD locus away from the heterochromatic nuclear periphery. These effects promote MuSC activation, resulting in stem cell depletion and impaired long-term muscle regeneration. Genetic reduction of MyoD expression rescues fHC formation and lost MuSC quiescence, restoring muscle regeneration capacity in Suv4-20h1 mutants. Together, these findings reveal that Suv4-20h1 actively regulates MuSC quiescence via fHC formation and control of the MyoD locus, thereby guarding and preserving the stem cell pool over a lifetime.

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Gpbar1 (TGR5), a membrane-bound bile acid receptor, is well-known for its roles in regulation of energy homeostasis and glucose metabolism. Here, we show that mice lacking TGR5 were much more susceptible to lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute gastric inflammation than wild-type (WT) mice and TGR5 is a negative regulator of gastric inflammation through antagonizing NF-κB signaling pathway. We found that the treatment of TGR5 ligands 23(S)-mCDCA and GPBARA (3-(2-Chlorophenyl)-N-(4-chlorophenyl)-N,5-dimethylisoxazole-4-carboxamide) suppressed gene and protein expression mediated by NF-κB signaling. TGR5 overexpression with ligand treatment inhibited gene expression of interferon-inducible protein 10 (IP-10), TNF-α, and chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) induced by LPS. Furthermore, we revealed that TGR5 activation antagonized NF-κB signaling pathway through suppressing its transcription activity, the phosphorylation of IκBα and p65 translocation, which suggests that TGR5 antagonizes gastric inflammation at least in part by inhibiting NF-κB signaling. These findings identify TGR5 as a negative mediator of gastric inflammation that may serve as an attractive therapeutic tool for human gastric inflammation and cancer.