Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Modeling Myotonic Dystrophy 1 in C2C12 Myoblast Cells
09:39

Modeling Myotonic Dystrophy 1 in C2C12 Myoblast Cells

Published on: July 29, 2016

Fusion competence of myoblasts rendered genetically null for N-cadherin in culture

C A Charlton1, W A Mohler, G L Radice

  • 1Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA.

The Journal of Cell Biology
|July 28, 1997
PubMed

Insights

N-cadherin is not essential for myoblast fusion, a key process in muscle development. Genetic studies using N-cadherin null myoblasts confirmed its lack of necessity in muscle formation.

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Muscle Physiology

Background:

  • Myoblast fusion is critical for skeletal muscle development.
  • N-cadherin, a cell adhesion molecule, has been proposed to play a role in myoblast fusion.
  • Previous studies were limited by early embryonic lethality in N-cadherin knockout mice.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To genetically determine the role of N-cadherin in skeletal myoblast fusion.
  • To investigate if N-cadherin is essential for myoblast fusion in vitro and in vivo.
  • To exclude a role for N-cadherin in mediating basic fibroblast growth factor effects.

Main Methods:

  • Generation of N-cadherin null primary myoblasts from adult mice.
  • In vitro fusion assays using intracisternal complementation with lacZ.
  • In vivo fusion assays by injecting cells into adult mouse muscles.

Main Results:

  • N-cadherin null myoblasts exhibited normal fusion capacity in vitro.
  • Fusion of N-cadherin null myoblasts was also equivalent to wild-type in vivo.
  • N-cadherin was not found to be essential for mediating basic fibroblast growth factor-induced effects.

Conclusions:

  • N-cadherin is not essential for skeletal myoblast fusion.
  • The study provides a method for generating null somatic cells from adult tissues.
  • This finding clarifies the role of N-cadherin in muscle development.

More Related Videos

Stable Knockdown of Genes Encoding Extracellular Matrix Proteins in the C2C12 Myoblast Cell Line Using Small-Hairpin (sh)RNA12:19

Stable Knockdown of Genes Encoding Extracellular Matrix Proteins in the C2C12 Myoblast Cell Line Using Small-Hairpin (sh)RNA

Published on: February 12, 2020

Generation of Null Mutants to Elucidate the Role of Bacterial Glycosyltransferases in Bacterial Motility12:29

Generation of Null Mutants to Elucidate the Role of Bacterial Glycosyltransferases in Bacterial Motility

Published on: March 11, 2022

Related Concept Videos

In-vitro Mutagenesis01:16

In-vitro Mutagenesis

To learn more about the function of a gene, researchers can observe what happens when the gene is inactivated or “knocked out,” by creating genetically engineered knockout animals. Knockout mice have been particularly useful as models for human diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and diabetes.
Cadherins in Tissue Organization01:19

Cadherins in Tissue Organization

The cadherins are a superfamily of cell adhesion molecules comprising over 180 variants, with specific tissues expressing a particular combination of cadherin types. Cadherins generally exhibit homophilic binding; i.e., cadherins on one cell bind to cadherins of the same or closely related type on another cell. Thus, cells of the same type have a specific affinity to bind to each other and sort themselves into clusters to form tissues.
Cell Sorting During Development
Cell sorting plays an...