Staufen1 impairs stress granule formation in skeletal muscle cells from myotonic dystrophy type 1 patients

Myotonic dystrophy (DM1) is caused by an expansion of CUG repeats (CUG(exp)) in the DMPK mRNA 3′UTR. CUG(exp)-containing mRNAs become toxic to cells by misregulating RNA-binding proteins. Here we investigated the consequence of this RNA toxicity on the cellular stress response. We report that cell stress efficiently triggers formation of stress granules (SGs) in proliferating, quiescent, and differentiated muscle cells, as shown by the appearance of distinct cytoplasmic TIA-1– and DDX3-containing foci. We show that Staufen1 is also dynamically recruited into these granules. Moreover, we discovered that DM1 myoblasts fail to properly form SGs in response to arsenite. This blockage was not observed in DM1 fibroblasts, demonstrating a cell type–specific defect. DM1 myoblasts display increased expression and sequestration of toxic CUG(exp) mRNAs compared with fibroblasts. Of importance, down-regulation of Staufen1 in DM1 myoblasts rescues SG formation. Together our data show that Staufen1 participates in the inhibition of SG formation in DM1 myoblasts. These results reveal that DM1 muscle cells fail to properly respond to stress, thereby likely contributing to the complex pathogenesis of DM1.