The glycosyltransferase POGLUT1 regulates muscle stem cell development and maintenance in mice

Abstract

Mutations in proteinO-glucosyltransferase 1 (POGLUT1) cause a recessive form of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD-R21) associated with reduced satellite cell number and NOTCH1 signaling in adult patient muscles and impaired myogenic capacity of patient-derived muscle progenitors. However, thein vivoroles of POGLUT1 in the development, function, and maintenance of satellite cells are not well understood. Here, we show that conditional deletion of mousePoglut1in myogenic progenitors leads to early lethality, postnatal muscle growth defects, reducedPax7expression, abnormality in muscle extracellular matrix, and impaired muscle repair.Poglut1-deficient muscle progenitors exhibit reduced proliferation, enhanced differentiation, and accelerated fusion into myofibers. Inducible loss ofPoglut1in adult satellite cells leads to their precocious differentiation and impairs muscle repair upon serial injury. Cell-based signaling assays and mass spectrometric analysis indicate that POGLUT1 is required for the activation of NOTCH1, NOTCH2, and NOTCH3 in myoblasts and that NOTCH3 is a target of POGLUT1 like NOTCH1 and NOTCH2. These observations provide insight into the roles of POGLUT1 in muscle development and repair and the pathophysiology of LGMD-R21.