Nap1-mediated actin remodeling is essential for mammalian myoblast fusion.

ABSTRACT: Myoblast fusion is crucial for the formation, growth, maintenance and regeneration of healthy skeletal muscle. Unfortunately, the molecular machinery, cell behaviors, and membrane and cytoskeletal remodeling events that govern fusion and myofiber formation remain poorly understood. Using time-lapse imaging approaches on mouse C2C12 myoblasts, we identify discrete and specific molecular events at myoblast membranes during fusion and myotube formation. These events include rearrangement of cell shape from fibroblast to spindle-like morphologies, changes in lamellipodial and filopodial extensions during different periods of differentiation, and changes in membrane alignment and organization during fusion. We find that actin-cytoskeleton remodeling is crucial for these events: pharmacological

SUBMITTER: Nowak SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2736864 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature