Using a 3D virtual muscle model to link gene expression changes during myogenesis to protein spatial location in muscle

Abstract

Background: Myogenesis is an ordered process whereby mononucleated muscle precursor cells (myoblasts) fuse into multinucleated myotubes that eventually differentiate into myofibres, involving substantial changes in gene expression and the organisation of structural components of the cells. To gain further insight into the orchestration of these structural changes we have overlaid the spatial organisation of the protein components of a muscle cell with their gene expression changes during differentiation using a new 3D visualisation tool: The Virtual Muscle 3D (VMus3D). Results: Sets of generic striated muscle costamere, Z-disk and filament proteins were constructed from the literature and pr..