Camelia Bhattacharyya, Amity University Kolkata
Since our school days, we have known Cells to contain a single nucleus. Muscle cells, on the other hand, are different. They are known for containing hundreds of nuclei inside a large cytoplasm.
Studies have shown that the gene activity of these nuclei differs from each other and can affect muscle functions. Single-cell RNA sequencing has shown a difference in the gene activity of these nuclei. Since the muscle cells contain several different types of nuclei in a single cell, these cells themselves can act as a complete tissue. They thus interact with the neurons individually and produce muscle proteins. Also, there is a difference in gene activity between the normal muscle cells and the regenerating muscle cells and also amongst muscle cells of the same category. This feature is what makes the study of muscle cells such fascinating and different.
Another unique feature of these nuclei is that some nuclei form clusters near cells that are close to the muscle cells, while others are distributed equally throughout the cytoplasm. The former performs functions specific to areas far away in the body, while the latter perform local functions. The specific-gene activity of these nuclei is yet to be studied in detail. The gene-activity seems lost due to the lack of dystrophin (caused by muscle dystrophy), resulting in the loss of various types of cell nuclei; the nuclei even fail to form proper clusters.
All these data direct scientists and researchers to a detailed study of muscle fiber which might someday lead to a new procedure in medical science to treat diseases related to muscles.
Also read:Hypsibius exemplaris: a tardigrade as an emerging model for mitochondrial enzyme analysis
Source: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-12-reveals-variability-muscles-cells.html
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