A critical step in regenerative medicine for people with muscular disorders is to figure out how to make stem cells fuse together to form working skeletal muscle tissue.
In this image, a newly described gene and its protein called myomerger induce cell fusion amongst fibroblast cells – cells in connective tissue responsible for maintaining structural integrity.
The flower-like clumps of light visible in the image signify the expression of genes by multi-nucleus cells as they fuse together. These genes are necessary for the creation of skeletal muscle tissue.
Originally published by Cosmos as Muscle builders
Cosmos reporter
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