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Related Concept Videos

Microscopic Anatomy of Skeletal Muscles01:13

Microscopic Anatomy of Skeletal Muscles

Skeletal muscle cells, also called muscle fibers, are distinctly elongated, multi-nucleated, slender biological units. They are packed with specialized structures designed to facilitate their primary function, which is contraction.
The muscle sarcolemma is a plasma membrane enclosing each muscle cell that conducts electrical signals called action potentials. The sarcolemma extends into the cell to form T-tubules, ensuring the neural impulses are uniformly distributed across the entire muscle...
Overview of Skeletal Muscle01:15

Overview of Skeletal Muscle

Skeletal muscles are composed of a bundle of muscle fibers and are attached to bones through tendons. Each skeletal muscle fiber is a single muscle cell. The sarcolemma, the plasma membrane of a skeletal muscle cell, consists of a lipid bilayer and glycocalyx that supports muscle fibers. The sarcolemma extends into the muscle cells to form tubular structures called transverse or T-tubules. Each side of the T-tubules consists of a membrane-bound structure called the sarcoplasmic reticulum,...
Structure and Organization of Smooth Muscles01:13

Structure and Organization of Smooth Muscles

Smooth muscle tissue is a type of muscle tissue that can be found lining various vital organs in the human body, including the lungs, blood vessels, digestive tract, and respiratory tract. This type of tissue is responsible for regulating the movements of these organs, playing crucial roles in the functioning of various systems, including the vascular, digestive, respiratory, and urinary systems.
Structure of smooth muscle cell
Smooth muscle cells are spindle-shaped with tapering ends and a...
Skeletal Muscle Anatomy00:55

Skeletal Muscle Anatomy

Skeletal muscle is the most abundant type of muscle in the body. Tendons are the connective tissue that attaches skeletal muscle to bones. Skeletal muscles pull on tendons, which in turn pull on bones to carry out voluntary movements.
Formation of Muscle Fibers from Myoblasts01:13

Formation of Muscle Fibers from Myoblasts

De novo myogenesis, or the formation of muscle fibers, begins during the early embryonic stages. The skeletal muscle is formed from somites– blocks of embryonic cell layers. The somites are further divided into dermatomes, myotomes, sclerotomes, and syndetomes. Among these, the myotomes give rise to muscle fibers.
Muscle progenitor cells (MPCs) are formed from the myotomes. MPCs express genes that encode the transcription factors Pax3 and Pax7. Along with Pax 3/7, other transcription factors...
Structure of Cardiac Muscles01:13

Structure of Cardiac Muscles

Cardiac muscle, or myocardium, is a specialized type of muscle found exclusively in the heart. Its unique structural and functional characteristics enable the heart to perform its vital role of pumping blood throughout the body continuously and rhythmically. The cardiac muscle cells, or cardiomyocytes, possess an endomysium and perimysium but do not have an epimysium.
Compared to skeletal muscles, cardiac muscle cells are small and mostly have a single nucleus. Additionally, they are usually...

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Engineering Skeletal Muscle Tissues from Murine Myoblast Progenitor Cells and Application of Electrical Stimulation
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Self-organization of muscle cell structure and function.

Anna Grosberg1, Po-Ling Kuo, Chin-Lin Guo

  • 1Disease Biophysics Group, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.

Plos Computational Biology
|March 11, 2011
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Muscle cell organization relies on physical cues from the extracellular matrix. Boundary conditions guide cytoskeletal organization and sarcomeregenesis, revealing a hierarchical self-organization mechanism for contractile cytoskeleton development.

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Area of Science:

  • Cellular Biology
  • Biophysics
  • Tissue Engineering

Background:

  • Muscle organization spans multiple scales, from sarcomeres to muscle bundles.
  • Physical constraints in microenvironments can influence intracellular organization.
  • Understanding multiscale coupling in muscle adaptation is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how extracellular boundary conditions influence cytoskeletal organization in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes.
  • To elucidate the mechanisms of directed sarcomeregenesis.
  • To model the self-organization of the contractile cytoskeleton.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a quantitative model of cytoskeletal organization.
  • Utilized in vitro assays to control myocyte shape.
  • Analyzed the interaction between cytoskeletal components and extracellular matrix cues.

Main Results:

  • Identified two temporally-ordered organizational processes: actin fiber/premyofibril/focal adhesion interactions and myofibril alignment.
  • Demonstrated that distinct cytoskeletal architectures arise from these processes.
  • Showed that extracellular boundary conditions potentiate cytoskeletal polarization.

Conclusions:

  • A hierarchy of mechanisms regulates contractile cytoskeleton self-organization.
  • A positive feedback loop, initiated by a symmetry break and potentiated by extracellular cues, is essential for polarizing the cytoskeleton.