MyoD transactivates angiotensinogen promoter in fibroblast C3H10T1/2 cells.

MyoD is one of the regulatory genes that causes activation of the expression of muscle specific genes in fibroblasts through interaction with a cis-acting DNA element CANNTG (E-box). We show here that forced expression of MyoD in mouse fibroblast C3H10T1/2 cells induces the expression of the liver specific rat angiotensinogen gene promoter. In the absence of MyoD, the angiotensinogen promoter is not expressed in C3H10T1/2 fibroblasts. Cotransfection of MyoD has no significant effect on the angiotensinogen promoter activity in the liver-derived HepG2 cells, suggesting that the regulatory programs of HepG2 and C3H10T1/2 cells are different, at least in terms of the requirement for MyoD-mediated transactivation of the target angiotensinogen promoter.