Direct inhibition of G1 cdk kinase activity by MyoD promotes myoblast cell cycle withdrawal and terminal differentiation

MyoD has been proposed to facilitate terminal myoblast differentiation by binding to and inhibiting phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma protein (pRb). Here we show that MyoD can interact with cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (cdk4) through a conserved 15 amino acid (aa) domain in the C-terminus of MyoD. MyoD, its C-terminus lacking the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) domain, or the 15 aa cdk4-binding domain all inhibit the cdk4-dependent phosphorylation of pRb in vitro. Cellular expression of full-length MyoD or fusion proteins containing either the C-terminus or just the 15 aa cdk4-binding domain of MyoD inhibit cell growth and pRb phosphorylation in vivo. The minimal cdk4-binding domain of MyoD fused to GFP can also induce differentiation of C2C12 muscle cells in growth medium. The defective myogenic phenotype in MyoD-negative BC3H1 cells can be rescued completely only when MyoD contains the cdk4-binding domain. We propose that a regulatory checkpoint in the terminal cell cycle arrest of the myoblast during differentiation involves the modulation of the cyclin D cdk-dependent phosphorylation of pRb through the opposing effects of cyclin D1 and MyoD.