The understanding of pathological body wall muscle cell fusion mediated by ectopic expression of the fusogen – EFF-1 in Caenorhabditis elegans.
Abstract:
In vertebrates, skeletal muscle develops through myoblast fusion, forming a vast multinuclear structure, while other muscles such as smooth muscles do not fuse. In Caenorhabditis elegans, body movement is coordinated through unfused body wall muscle (BWM) cells, whereas other muscle tissues rely on cell fusion requiring the fusion protein EFF-1. To study the role of cell fusion in muscles, we induced the ectopic expression of EFF-1 in BWMs. We found that this treatment induced cell merger and an uncoordinated dumpy morphology, indicating that cell fusion is detrimental for BWMs function. Using modified mosaic analysis, we provide evidence that EFF-1 expression is required on both fusing cells, consistent with a bilateral and homotypic mechanism of fusion. These findings expand our knowledge of the consequences of pathological muscle fusion, with potential implications in different diseases.
