Nature Communications
Nature Communications
4 years ago

The microprotein Minion controls cell fusion and muscle formation

The microprotein Minion controls cell fusion and muscle formation
Qiao Zhang, Stéphane Y Corbel, Rita Moran, Eric Durrant, Srinath C. Sampath, Srihari C. Sampath, Loren Miraglia, Christian Schmedt, Ajay A. Vashisht, Jia Zhang, Jason O’Rourke, Angelica Romero
Although recent evidence has pointed to the existence of small open reading frame (smORF)-encoded microproteins in mammals, their function remains to be determined. Skeletal muscle development requires fusion of mononuclear progenitors to form multinucleated myotubes, a critical but poorly understood process. Here we report the identification of Minion (microprotein inducer of fusion), a smORF encoding an essential skeletal muscle specific microprotein. Myogenic progenitors lacking Minion differentiate normally but fail to form syncytial myotubes, and Minion-deficient mice die perinatally and demonstrate a marked reduction in fused muscle fibres. The fusogenic activity of Minion is conserved in the human orthologue, and co-expression of Minion and the transmembrane protein Myomaker is sufficient to induce cellular fusion accompanied by rapid cytoskeletal rearrangement, even in non-muscle cells. These findings establish Minion as a novel microprotein required for muscle development, and define a two-component programme for the induction of mammalian cell fusion. Moreover, these data also significantly expand the known functions of smORF-encoded microproteins.

Publisher URL: http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15664

DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15664

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