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Updated: Jan 2, 2026

Author Spotlight: Mitochondrial Remodeling in Skeletal Muscle
Published on: December 1, 2023
Physical and Functional Cross Talk Between Endo-Sarcoplasmic Reticulum and Mitochondria in Skeletal Muscle
Simona Boncompagni1,2, Diego Pozzer3, Carlo Viscomi4
1CeSI-Met-Center for Research on Ageing and Translational Medicine, University G. d' Annunzio, Chieti, Italy.
Abstract:
Significance: The physiological relevance of contacts between the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), a specialized domain of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in skeletal muscle, and mitochondria is still not clear. Recent Advances: An extensive close proximity of these two organelles is a late developmental event, which suggests that it does not have an essential function. Critical Issues: The intimate association of SR/mitochondria develops during murine postnatal differentiation and the recovery of denervated atrophic muscle, which suggests that this is a highly regulated process with a specific function. Analyses of mouse models for muscle diseases suggest that impaired ER/SR-mitochondrial contacts may be due to ER stress and lead to defective bioenergetics and insulin signaling. Future Directions: Future studies are necessary to identify the molecular determinants weakening insulin signaling upon impairment of ER/mitochondrial contacts in skeletal muscles as well as to analyze the distance between SR/ER and mitochondria in muscle diseases associated with ER stress.
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