Skip to main content
  • U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
National Institutes of Health (NIH) - Turning Discovery into Health
  • NIH Employee Intranet
  • Staff Directory
  • En Español

Site Menu

  • Home
  • Health Information
    • Health Info Lines
    • Find Health Services
    • HealthCare.gov
    • NIH Clinical Research Trials and You
    • Talking to Your Doctor
    • Science Education Resources
    • Community Resources
    • Clear Health A–Z
    • Publications List

    More »

    Quick Links

    • MedlinePlus Health Info
    • NIH News in Health
    • Wellness Toolkits
  • Grants & Funding
    • Grants Home Page
    • Find Funding
    • Due Dates
    • How to Apply
    • About Grants
    • Policy & Compliance
    • Grants News/Blog
    • Contracts
    • Loan Repayment

    More »

    Quick Links

    • RePORT
    • eRA Commons
    • NIH Common Fund
  • News & Events
    • News Releases
    • Digital Media Kits
    • Media Resources
    • Media Contacts
    • Images and B-roll
    • Events
    • Social Media

    More »

    Quick Links

    • NIH News in Health
    • NIH Research Matters
    • NIH Record
  • Research & Training
    • Medical Research Initiatives
    • Science Highlights
    • Science Education
    • Research in NIH Labs & Clinics
    • Training Opportunities
    • Library Resources
    • Research Resources
    • Clinical Research Resources
    • Safety, Regulation and Guidance

    More »

    Quick Links

    • PubMed
    • Stem Cell Information
    • OppNet
    • NIDB
    • NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research
  • Institutes at NIH
    • List of Institutes, Centers & Offices
    • NIH Office of the Director
    • Directors of NIH Institutes and Centers
    • NIH Institute and Center Contact Information

    More »

    Quick Links

    • NCI
    • NEI
    • NHLBI
    • NHGRI
    • NIA
    • NIAAA
    • NIAID
    • NIAMS
    • NIBIB
    • NICHD
    • NIDCD
    • NIDCR
    • NIDDK
    • NIDA
    • NIEHS
    • NIGMS
    • NIMH
    • NIMHD
    • NINDS
    • NINR
    • NLM
    • CC
    • CIT
    • CSR
    • FIC
    • NCATS
    • NCCIH
    • OD
  • About NIH
    • Who We Are
    • What We Do
    • Jobs at NIH
    • Visitor Information
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Contact Us

    More »

    Quick Links

    • The NIH Director
    • The NIH Almanac
    • NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®
    • Impact of NIH Research
    • Science, Health, and Public Trust

 COVID-19

  • Get the latest public health information from CDC
  • Get the latest research information from NIH | Español
  • NIH staff guidance on coronavirus (NIH Only)

You are here

Home » News & Events » News Releases

News Releases

News Release

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

NIH study uncovers details of early stages in muscle formation and regeneration

Mouse study findings may offer clues for understanding cell fusion.

Illustration showing how muscle fibers form To form muscle fibers, masses of cells merge to form long tubes with many cell nuclei (above). First, proteins on the outside of the cells (shown as spikes in A) promote the fusion of the cell membranes. The blue squares in B and C represent proteins inside the cells that facilitate the development of a pore between them, so their contents can merge.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have identified proteins that allow muscle cells in mice to form from the fusion of the early stage cells that give rise to the muscle cells.

The findings have implications for understanding how to repair and rehabilitate muscle tissue and to understanding other processes involving cell fusion, such as when a sperm fertilizes an egg, when viruses infect cells, or when specialized cells called osteoclasts dissolve and assimilate bone tissue in order to repair and maintain bones.

Their findings were published online in the Journal of Cell Biology.

"Through a process that starts with these progenitor cells, the body forms tissue that accounts for about one-third of its total weight," said the study's senior author, Leonid V. Chernomordik, Ph.D., of the Section on Membrane Biology at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the NIH institute where the research was conducted. "Our study provides the first look at the very early stages of this fusion process."

Dr. Chernomordik conducted the study along with researchers at NICHD (Evgenia. Leikina, D.V.M.,; Kamram. Melikov, Ph.D.; Samristha Sanyal, Ph.D.; Santosh Verma, Bokke Eun, Ph.D.; Claudia Gebert, D.V.M., Ph.D.; Karl Pfeifer, Ph.D., and Vladimir.A. Lizunov, Ph.D.) and at Tel Aviv University, in Israel (Michael M. Kozlov, Ph.D.).

Muscle cells originate from precursor cells known as myoblasts. Myoblasts fuse to form a single long tubular cell called a myocyte (a muscle fiber). Muscle tissue is composed of large collections of these fibers. The fusion of myoblasts into muscle fibers takes place early in fetal development. With exercise and throughout a person's life, the process is repeated to form new muscle mass and repair old or damaged muscle.

It takes many hours for cells to prepare for fusion, but the fusion process itself is very rapid. To study myoblast fusion, the researchers first blocked the start of the fusion process with a chemical. Ordinarily, the mouse myoblasts the researchers worked with fuse at varied intervals. By blocking fusion, and then lifting the block, the researchers were able to synchronize fusion in a large number of cells, making the process easier to study.

The researchers identified the two distinct stages of cell fusion and the essential proteins that facilitate these stages.

In the first stage, two myoblasts meet, and proteins on cell surface membranes cause the membranes to meld. In the second stage, a pore opens between the cells and their contents merge. This second step is guided by proteins inside the cells.

The work identifies two cell surface proteins that act at the start of myoblast fusion. These proteins belong to a large family of proteins called annexins. Annexins are also known to play a role in membrane repair and in inflammation.

The researchers identified the protein dynamin, found inside the cell, as essential to the second stage of the cell fusion process.

"Dynamin also has an unexplained link to certain rare and poorly understood myopathies -- disorders characterized by underdeveloped muscles," said Dr. Chernomordik. "We hope that further examination of the role of dynamin in cell fusion will lead to a greater understanding of these conditions."

A graphic accompanying this release is available at http://www.nichd.nih.gov/news/releases/Pages/010713-cell-fusion-image1.aspx. The research article upon which the release is based can be downloaded free of charge at http://jcb.rupress.org/content/200/1/3.full.

About the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): The NICHD sponsors research on development, before and after birth; maternal, child, and family health; reproductive biology and population issues; and medical rehabilitation. For more information, visit the Institute’s website at http://www.nichd.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®

###

Institute/Center

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Contact

Robert Bock
301-496-5133

Connect with Us

  • Subscribe to news releases
  • RSS Feed

Connect with Us

  • Contact Us
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Flickr
  • More Social Media from NIH

Footer

  • NIH Home
  • En Español
  • Site Map
  • Visitor Information
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Web Policies and Notices
  • Freedom of Information Act
  • No Fear Act
  • Office of Inspector General
  • USA.gov – Government Made Easy

NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®

National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland 20892

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Back to Top