Researchers from the University of Montreal tell us how our muscles form and repair themselves and, in doing so, identify 2 key proteins that regulate the singular choreography of stem cell-derived cells, myoblasts, which come together to the point of compressing their membranes cells and form muscle tissue. Work presented in Nature Communications which thus designates 2 new valuable targets not only for accelerating muscle healing but also for treating rare muscle diseases.
All vertebrates need muscles to function. Muscles are the most abundant tissue in the human body and skeletal muscles attached to our bones allow our bodies to move. Whether in the developing embryo or in a professional athlete, it is the same sequence that leads to their formation. The main author, researcher Jean-François Côté, director of the "Cytoskeleton" at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM), explains: "In vertebrates, cells derived from stem cells, called myoblasts, align first and come close to the point of touching and compressing their cell membranes”.
2 proteins essential for the development of skeletal muscle : these proteins, ClqL4 and Stabilin-2 allow myoblasts to fuse together to create a large cell. This phenomenon of cell fusion is very specific to certain tissues, in particular the placenta, to the remodeling of our bones and to the formation and repair of muscles. To build and repair muscles, myoblasts must perform their movements with great care. No wrong moves are allowed, otherwise it's muscle dysfunction. ClqL4 and Stabilin-2 regulate this singular choreography and guarantee the success of this delicate sequence. Working as a team, the 2 proteins will indeed slow down and trigger, respectively, cell fusion at key moments. And their role is crucial, underline the researchers in their press release: "if the timing of myoblasts is interrupted,
This is what happens in muscular diseases characterized by weakness making certain movements difficult.
The discovery of these proteins has already given rise to a follow-up study: the researchers want to verify that these proteins can be a therapeutic target for muscle repair or the treatment of rare muscle diseases such as myopathies and muscular dystrophies.
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