Proteomic profiling of the extracellular matrix in skeletal muscle

A dynamic extracellular matrix (ECM) surrounds individual cellular units and fills the intercellular space to provide physical support, structural organization and a medium for signaling mechanisms. This article focuses on the ECM in skeletal muscles, which exhibits a diverse and dynamic protein composition in the endomysium, perimysium and epimysium. The muscle matrisome plays a key role in providing tissue integrity during embryonic myogenesis, muscle repair and myofiber regeneration. Mass spectrometry-based proteomics has been instrumental in the systematic cataloguing of the muscle ECM, including collagens, glycoproteins, proteoglycans, matricellular proteins and adhesion complexes, and the elucidation of their pathophysiological role in neuromuscular disorders.