Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jurandyr Pimentel Neto, Lara Caetano Rocha-Braga, Carolina dos Santos Jacob, Andre Neri Tomiate, Adriano Polican Ciena
Summary: This study investigated the morphology and molecular adaptations of the myotendinous junction (MTJ) in the biceps brachii muscle of adult Wistar rats subjected to different ladder-based protocols. The results showed that ladder exercise promoted the reorganization of muscle and collagen tissue and development of the sarcomeres and myotendinous interface. Immunofluorescence analysis also revealed the presence of cells adjacent to the MTJ region. These findings provide valuable insights into the remodeling of the MTJ and its potential applications in proteomic and genetic analysis.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Saeed Jerban, Yajun Ma, Qingbo Tang, Eddie Fu, Nikolaus Szeverenyi, Hyungseok Jang, Christine B. B. Chung, Jiang Du, Eric Y. Y. Chang
Summary: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is considered the most comprehensive imaging technique for assessing skeletal muscle quality and quantity. Magnetization transfer (MT) imaging can estimate the water and macromolecular proton pools, including myofibrillar proteins and collagen, which are related to muscle quality and force generation. The combination of MT modeling and ultrashort echo time (UTE-MT modeling) can improve the evaluation of myotendinous junction and fibrotic tissue regions in skeletal muscles with shorter T2 values and higher bound-water concentration. This study investigated the impact of fat fraction (FF) on macromolecular fraction (MMF) estimation in bovine skeletal muscle phantoms embedded in pure fat using UTE-MT modeling with and without T1 measurement and B1 correction. The results demonstrate the potential of UTE-MT modeling with accurate T1 measurement for robust muscle assessment while being insensitive to fat infiltration up to moderate levels.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Genji Watanabe, Masahito Yamamoto, Shuichirou Taniguchi, Yuki Sugiyama, Hidetomo Hirouchi, Satoshi Ishizuka, Kei Kitamura, Toshihide Mizoguchi, Takashi Takayama, Katsuhiko Hayashi, Shinichi Abe
Summary: Tendons have inferior regenerative ability compared to muscles, but Sox9 may play a crucial role in restoring tendon functions after injury.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Juan Jose Perez-Moreno, Carmen Santa-Cruz Mateos, Maria Dolores Martin-Bermudo, Beatriz Estrada
Summary: Muscle development is a complex process involving cell specification, myoblast fusion, myotube migration, and attachment to tendons. The molecular mechanisms underlying myotube migration are not well understood, but studies in Drosophila have identified some molecular signals involved in this process. Laminins and Kon-tiki/Perdido have been found to play important roles in controlling both myotube migration and attachment.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Sport Sciences
Jens Rithamer Jakobsen, Abigail Louise Mackey, Manuel Koch, Thomas Imhof, Jens Hannibal, Michael Kjaer, Michael Rindom Krogsgaard
Summary: The myotendinous junction (MTJ) is structurally specialized to transmit force. Muscles with a high content of type II muscle fibers are more prone to strain injury compared to those with type I muscle fibers. Confocal microscopy analysis revealed that the surface area of the MTJ is smaller in type II muscle fibers compared to type I fibers. This suggests that type II muscle fibers have lower resistance to strain and are therefore more susceptible to injury.
SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINE & SCIENCE IN SPORTS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bisei Ohkawara, Masaomi Kurokawa, Akinori Kanai, Kiyomi Imamura, Guiying Chen, Ruchen Zhang, Akio Masuda, Koichi Higashi, Hiroshi Mori, Yutaka Suzuki, Ken Kurokawa, Kinji Ohno
Summary: During embryonic development, the formation of the neuromuscular junction is regulated by a series of genes. Analysis of embryonic and neonatal mouse diaphragms reveals distinct gene expression patterns in each muscle nucleus during the formation of the neuromuscular junction. Some of these genes play important roles in the process.
JOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Review
Cell Biology
Richard P. Tucker, Josephine C. Adams
Summary: Thrombospondins (TSPs) play diverse roles in animals and have been found to belong to a superfamily that includes different subgroups such as mega-TSPs, sushi-TSPs, and poriferan-TSPs. Invertebrates encode a greater diversity of TSP superfamily members than vertebrates.
SEMINARS IN CELL & DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2024)
Review
Cell Biology
Eszter Mihaly, Dallas E. Altamirano, Sami Tuffaha, Warren Grayson
Summary: Volumetric muscle loss (VML) is the loss of a critical mass of skeletal muscle leading to permanent functional deficits and deformity. The treatment of VML is complex, with autologous muscle flap transfer being the gold standard but having limitations. Recent advances in tissue engineering aim to replicate the functionality of an intact muscle and involve understanding the cellular composition of skeletal muscle and incorporating various cell types into engineered constructs.
SEMINARS IN CELL & DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Cell Biology
Jia Chen, Daniel St Johnston
Summary: This article reviews the current understanding of cell polarization in different stages (embryonic, larval, pupal, and adult) of Drosophila midgut development, and discusses the unresolved mechanisms that control changes in cell arrangements, cell shape, and cell polarity during midgut development.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Sport Sciences
Wing Yin Lau, Anthony J. Blazevich, Michael J. Newton, Sam Shi Xuan Wu, Kazunori Nosaka
Summary: The study aimed to compare the effects of supinated and neutral positions on indirect markers of muscle damage following eccentric exercises of the biceps brachii. The results revealed that the supinated position led to greater changes in muscle damage markers, likely due to greater muscle elongation during the exercise.
SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINE & SCIENCE IN SPORTS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Adrien Morin, Amalia Stantzou, Olga N. Petrova, John Hildyard, Thomas Tensorer, Meriem Matouk, Mina V. Petkova, Isabelle Richard, Tudor Manoliu, Aurelie Goyenvalle, Sestina Falcone, Markus Schuelke, Corinne Laplace-Builhe, Richard J. Piercy, Luis Garcia, Helge Amthor
Summary: Dystrophin is crucial for muscle health, but its spatial organization is not well understood. Studying fluorescently tagged dystrophin in mice, researchers discovered that dystrophin is compartmentalized in sarcolemmal territories. At myotendinous junctions, Dmd transcripts and dystrophin protein are enriched. Genomic correction restored separated dystrophin domains, while transcript-level correction restored dystrophin initially at junctions before extending along the entire fiber. This research suggests that widespread restoration of fiber dystrophin, especially at muscle-tendon junctions, is critical for therapeutic success in DMD.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Jens R. Jakobsen, Peter Schjerling, Michael Kjaer, Abigail L. Mackey, Michael R. Krogsgaard
Summary: This study found that a single bout of eccentric exercise had an effect on the expression of NES and OSTN mRNA in the myotendinous junction (MTJ) and tendon fractions. Genes previously identified at the MTJ were expressed at a higher level compared to muscle and tendon but were unaffected by exercise. Additionally, the exercise group showed a higher concentration of macrophages in muscle close to the MTJ. These results suggest that NES and OSTN may play a role in explaining how the MTJ adapts to eccentric exercise.
HISTOCHEMISTRY AND CELL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hikari Amemiya, Masahito Yamamoto, Kazunari Higa, Genji Watanabe, Shuichiro Taniguchi, Kei Kitamura, Juhee Jeong, Nobuaki Yanagisawa, Ken-ichi Fukuda, Shinichi Abe
Summary: Myo is found to be involved in the regulation of the myotendinous junction (MTJ) and the healing process of injured tendons. It affects the nuclear morphology of cells in the MTJ and strengthens the connection at the MTJ during growth and wound healing.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Won Jin Kim, Geun Hyung Kim
Summary: The study involves inducing differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells using muscle- and tendon-derived decellularized extracellular matrix bioinks, and fabricating myotendinous junction constructs through bioprinting. Results indicate that the bioprinted constructs promote differentiation of stem cells and show higher gene expression at the interface zone.
BIOENGINEERING & TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marilyne Malbouyres, Alexandre Guiraud, Christel Lefrancois, Melanie Salamito, Pauline Nauroy, Laure Bernard, Frederic Sohm, Bruno Allard, Florence Ruggiero
Summary: Gene ablation of the MTJ marker col22a1 in zebrafish results in variable degrees of MTJ dysfunction and distinct phenotypic classes. Movement impairment and muscle weakness are observed, leading to locomotion-related dysfunction and larval death. COL22A1 may be a candidate gene for myopathies associated with dysfunctional force transmission.
Review
Developmental Biology
Cheng Shi, Pengfei Jiao, Zhiyi Chen, Lan Ma, Siyue Yao
Summary: This review discusses the molecular etiology of congenital craniofacial abnormalities, with a focus on the role and mechanism of noncoding RNAs in regulating craniofacial development. Aberrant expression of noncoding RNAs has been implicated in the pathogenesis of craniofacial abnormalities, providing potential therapeutic targets.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Developmental Biology
Hideru Togashi, Steven Ray Davis, Makoto Sato
Summary: Tile patterns, regulated by cell adhesion molecules, are regular arrangements of cells that play important functional roles in multicellular organisms. The physical constraints and cell adhesion regulate both cell shape and tissue morphogenesis.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Developmental Biology
Armen Khanbabei, Lina Segura, Cynthia Petrossian, Aaron Lemus, Ithan Cano, Courtney Frazier, Armen Halajyan, Donnie Ca, Mariano Loza-Coll
Summary: This article investigates the genetic regulatory mechanisms of Drosophila intestinal stem cells. The study found that most target genes co-regulated by Esg and STAT show a consistent gene expression pattern. However, manipulating these validated targets in vivo rarely replicated the effects of manipulating Esg and STAT, suggesting the presence of complex genetic interactions among the downstream targets of these two master regulator genes.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Developmental Biology
Bayley J. Waters, Zoe R. Birman, Matthew R. Wagner, Julia Lemanski, Barak Blum
Summary: Researchers found that conditional deletion of Robo2 in adult mice led to a significant loss of islet architecture without affecting beta cell identity or function, suggesting that Robo2 plays a role in actively maintaining adult islet architecture. Understanding the factors required for islet architecture maintenance is crucial for developing future diabetes therapies.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Developmental Biology
Rhiannon Clements, Tyler Smith, Luke Cowart, Jennifer Zhumi, Alan Sherrod, Aidan Cahill, Ginger L. Hunter
Summary: Cell protrusions play a crucial role in regulating cell activities during development. By studying the regulation mechanism in fruit fly sensory bristle patterning, it was found that Myosin XV is essential for the dynamics of signaling filopodia and promotes long-range Notch signaling.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Developmental Biology
Margaret Keating, Ryan Hagle, Daniel Osorio-Mendez, Anjelica Rodriguez-Parks, Sarah I. Almutawa, Junsu Kang
Summary: Knock-in reporter (KI) animals are essential for studying gene expression in biomedical research. This study developed a new strategy using minicircle technology and a minimal promoter to enhance knock-in events and establish stable KI transgenic reporter lines. The study also highlighted the importance of selecting the proper KI line due to potential inappropriate influence of genome editing on reporter gene expression.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Developmental Biology
Christian Altbuerger, Meta Rath, Daniel Armbruster, Wolfgang Driever
Summary: This study reveals that Neurog1 and Olig2 transcription factors have differential requirements for the development of dopaminergic neurons, and they integrate local patterning signals and Notch neurogenic selection signaling to specify the progenitor population and initiate neurogenesis and differentiation.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2024)