Phosphatidylserine orchestrates Myomerger membrane insertions to drive myoblast fusion.

ABSTRACT: Muscle cell fusion is a multistep process where the final step of the reaction drives progression beyond early hemifusion events to complete fusion. This step requires activity of the muscle-specific fusogen Myomerger, a single-pass transmembrane protein containing 84 amino acids with an ectodomain that includes two α-helices. Previous studies have demonstrated that Myomerger acts by destabilizing membranes through generation of elastic stresses in the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane. An obvious question is how such destabilizing activity might be regulated to avoid membrane and cellular damage, and how the two juxtaposed helices cooperate in fusion. Using cellular fusion assays and in vitro liposome assays, we report that the two helices possess unique characteristics, both of which

SUBMITTER: Gamage DG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9499509 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature