Muscle Structure and Function in Health and Disease

A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409). This special issue belongs to the section "Cellular Biophysics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2025) | Viewed by 3742

Special Issue Editor

Department of Biology, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, USA
Interests: muscle regulation; myopathies; biophysics of muscle; X-ray diffraction

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Striated muscle contraction is achieved via cyclic interactions between myosin-containing thick filaments and actin-containing thin filaments. Muscle contraction is highly regulated in order to meet the body’s specific needs. The mechanism of muscle regulation has traditionally been regarded as calcium-dependent and based on the thin filament. It is now realized that both the thin and thick filaments play roles in activating the sarcomere. Many inherited diseases in skeletal and cardiac muscle originate from mutations in sarcomeric proteins. Developing rational therapeutic strategies will require a detailed understanding of the structural and functional regulations of muscles under physiological states in healthy individuals, as well as dysregulations under pathological conditions in diseases.

The aim of this Special Issue is to bring together original articles and reviews on the structural and functional regulation and dysregulation in normal and diseased cardiac and skeletal muscle tissues. Potential topics include, but are not limited to: (1) the roles of thin filament proteins in muscle regulation; (2) the roles of thick filament proteins in muscle regulation; (3) the roles of Z-line and M-line proteins in muscle regulation; (4) the roles of elastic proteins in muscle regulation; and (5) pharmaceutical and investigational interventions in muscle regulation.

Dr. Weikang Ma
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • muscle regulation
  • structure
  • contractility
  • myosin
  • actin
  • titin
  • myopathies
  • cardiomyopathies

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

35 pages, 31411 KiB  
Article
The Role of Integrin β1D Mislocalization in the Pathophysiology of Calpain 3-Related Limb–Girdle Muscular Dystrophy
by Andrea Valls, Cristina Ruiz-Roldán, Jenita Immanuel, Sonia Alonso-Martín, Eduard Gallardo, Roberto Fernández-Torrón, Mario Bonilla, Ana Lersundi, Aurelio Hernández-Laín, Cristina Domínguez-González, Juan Jesús Vílchez, Pablo Iruzubieta, Adolfo López de Munain and Amets Sáenz
Cells 2025, 14(6), 446; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells14060446 - 17 Mar 2025
Viewed by 512
Abstract
Limb–girdle muscular dystrophy R1 (LGMDR1) is characterized by progressive proximal muscle weakness due to mutations in the CAPN3 gene. Little is known about CAPN3’s function in muscle, but its loss results in aberrant sarcomere formation. Human muscle structure was analyzed in this study, [...] Read more.
Limb–girdle muscular dystrophy R1 (LGMDR1) is characterized by progressive proximal muscle weakness due to mutations in the CAPN3 gene. Little is known about CAPN3’s function in muscle, but its loss results in aberrant sarcomere formation. Human muscle structure was analyzed in this study, with observations including integrin β1D isoform (ITGβ1D) mislocalization, a lack of Talin-1 (TLN1) in the sarcolemma and the irregular expression of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) in LGMDR1 muscles, suggesting a lack of integrin activation with an altered sarcolemma, extracellular matrix (ECM) assembly and signaling pathway deregulation, which may cause frailty in LGMDR1 muscle fibers. Additionally, altered nuclear morphology, centrosome distribution and microtubule organization have been found in muscle cells derived from LGMDR1 patients. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Muscle Structure and Function in Health and Disease)
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12 pages, 3155 KiB  
Article
An Insulin Upstream Open Reading Frame (INSU) Is Present in Skeletal Muscle Satellite Cells: Changes with Age
by Qing-Rong Liu, Min Zhu, Faatin Salekin, Brianah M. McCoy, Vernon Kennedy, Jr., Jane Tian, Caio H. Mazucanti, Chee W. Chia and Josephine M. Egan
Cells 2024, 13(22), 1903; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells13221903 - 18 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1081
Abstract
Insulin resistance, stem cell dysfunction, and muscle fiber dystrophy are all age-related events in skeletal muscle (SKM). However, age-related changes in insulin isoforms and insulin receptors in myogenic progenitor satellite cells have not been studied. Since SKM is an extra-pancreatic tissue that does [...] Read more.
Insulin resistance, stem cell dysfunction, and muscle fiber dystrophy are all age-related events in skeletal muscle (SKM). However, age-related changes in insulin isoforms and insulin receptors in myogenic progenitor satellite cells have not been studied. Since SKM is an extra-pancreatic tissue that does not express mature insulin, we investigated the levels of insulin receptors (INSRs) and a novel human insulin upstream open reading frame (INSU) at the mRNA, protein, and anatomical levels in Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) biopsied SKM samples of 27–89-year-old (yrs) participants. Using RT-qPCR and the MS-based selected reaction monitoring (SRM) assay, we found that the levels of INSR and INSU mRNAs and the proteins were positively correlated with the age of human SKM biopsies. We applied RNAscope fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunofluorescence (IF) to SKM cryosections and found that INSR and INSU were co-localized with PAX7-labeled satellite cells, with enhanced expression in SKM sections from an 89 yrs old compared to a 27 yrs old. We hypothesized that the SKM aging process might induce compensatory upregulation of INSR and re-expression of INSU, which might be beneficial in early embryogenesis and have deleterious effects on proliferative and myogenic satellite cells with advanced age. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Muscle Structure and Function in Health and Disease)
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12 pages, 4651 KiB  
Article
Direct Binding of Synaptopodin 2-Like Protein to Alpha-Actinin Contributes to Actin Bundle Formation in Cardiomyocytes
by Hiroshi Yamada, Hirona Osaka, Nanami Tatsumi, Miu Araki, Tadashi Abe, Keiko Kaihara, Ken Takahashi, Eizo Takashima, Takayuki Uchihashi, Keiji Naruse and Kohji Takei
Cells 2024, 13(16), 1373; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells13161373 - 17 Aug 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1583
Abstract
Synaptopodin 2-like protein (SYNPO2L) is localized in the sarcomere of cardiomyocytes and is involved in heart morphogenesis. However, the molecular function of SYNPO2L in the heart is not fully understood. We investigated the interaction of SYNPO2L with sarcomeric α-actinin and actin filaments in [...] Read more.
Synaptopodin 2-like protein (SYNPO2L) is localized in the sarcomere of cardiomyocytes and is involved in heart morphogenesis. However, the molecular function of SYNPO2L in the heart is not fully understood. We investigated the interaction of SYNPO2L with sarcomeric α-actinin and actin filaments in cultured mouse cardiomyocytes. Immunofluorescence studies showed that SYNPO2L colocalized with α-actinin and actin filaments at the Z-discs of the sarcomere. Recombinant SYNPO2La or SYNPO2Lb caused a bundling of the actin filaments in the absence of α-actinin and enhanced the α-actinin-dependent formation of actin bundles. In addition, high-speed atomic force microscopy revealed that SYNPO2La directly bound to α-actinin via its globular ends. The interaction between α-actinin and SYNPO2La fixed the movements of the two proteins on the actin filaments. These results strongly suggest that SYNPO2L cooperates with α-actinin during actin bundle formation to facilitate sarcomere formation and maintenance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Muscle Structure and Function in Health and Disease)
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