Inhibition of protein phosphatase methylesterase 1 dysregulates MAP kinase signaling and attenuates muscle cell differentiation

Protein phosphatase methylesterase 1 has been identified as a novel gene in skeletal muscle that is upregulated in response to neurogenic atrophy in mice. Western blot analysis confirms that Ppme1 is expressed during both muscle cell proliferation and differentiation. Additionally, the Ppme1 promoter is active in muscle cells, while mutation of a conserved E-box element prevents full induction of the Ppme1 reporter gene, suggesting that Ppme1 is transcriptionally regulated by myogenic regulatory factors. Interestingly, immunofluorescence analysis indicates that Ppme1 is localized to both the cytoplasm and the nucleus, while cell fractionation shows that Ppme1 is found only in the cytoplasm. Functional studies reveal that inhibition of Ppme1 using ABL127 or AMZ30 attenuates muscle cell differentiation. Interestingly, inhibition of Ppme1 by ABL127 led to a significant increase in AP-1 reporter activity, as well as, increases in ERK1/2, c-Jun, Ppme1, and PP2A protein levels in differentiating muscle cells. In contrast, AMZ30 treated cells showed a significant decrease in AP-1 reporter activity and a decrease in ERK1/2 and p38 phosphorylation levels. Finally, co-immunoprecipitation studies show that ABL127, but not AMZ30, causes disruption of the endogenous interaction between Ppme1 and PP2A. The data in this study show for the first time that Ppme1 is expressed in skeletal muscle and is upregulated in response to neurogenic atrophy. Furthermore, these findings suggest that Ppme1 may act as a sentinel of the MAP kinase signaling pathway and may indirectly regulate the ERK1/2 and p38 branches via a non-canonical mechanism leading to inhibition of muscle cell differentiation.