Investigating the spatial and structural specificity of muscle-specific fusion factors myomaker and myomerger through colocalization
Start Date
29-4-2022 3:45 PM
Location
Alter Hall Poster Session 2 - 2nd floor
Abstract
Skeletal muscle is composed of a vast system of cells that fuse together and can be damaged. Given the importance of muscle cell fusion for proper tissue development and regeneration after injury, this study aims to assess whether the fusion process could be accelerated through two methods. The first is exploring if two muscle specific fusion proteins, myomaker and myomerger, can carry out their independent functions simultaneously. The second method is the combination of myomerger with the non-muscle specific fusion protein, p22. To assess these questions, these combinations of proteins were introduced into a cell line to observe their ability to express and to cause cell fusion. Unfortunately, these constructs failed to enable fusion when expressed in HEK cells suggesting that the minimal requirements for this process were not met within these structures. Nonetheless, despite the lack of cell fusion, these results do provide valuable insight into the function of these proteins.
Investigating the spatial and structural specificity of muscle-specific fusion factors myomaker and myomerger through colocalization
Alter Hall Poster Session 2 - 2nd floor
Skeletal muscle is composed of a vast system of cells that fuse together and can be damaged. Given the importance of muscle cell fusion for proper tissue development and regeneration after injury, this study aims to assess whether the fusion process could be accelerated through two methods. The first is exploring if two muscle specific fusion proteins, myomaker and myomerger, can carry out their independent functions simultaneously. The second method is the combination of myomerger with the non-muscle specific fusion protein, p22. To assess these questions, these combinations of proteins were introduced into a cell line to observe their ability to express and to cause cell fusion. Unfortunately, these constructs failed to enable fusion when expressed in HEK cells suggesting that the minimal requirements for this process were not met within these structures. Nonetheless, despite the lack of cell fusion, these results do provide valuable insight into the function of these proteins.
