The process of myoblast fusion was observed in embryonic chick skeletal muscle cells grown in monolayer cultures at the fine structural level. At the first step, the sarcolemmas of cells destined to fuse are closely applied to each other. They are linked in some places by fasciae adherentes; in other places, engulfment of small processes of one cell by another is seen. At a somewhat more advanced stage of myogenesis, vesicles and tubules are formed between the adjacent cytoplasms; presumably, the apposed membranes have opened at several points and their edges have fused to each other. Finally, remnants of cell membranes (vesicles and tubules) disappear completely, and the confluent cytoplasm is formed. The cytoplasmic contents of the multinucleated cells are often poorly admixed, giving the cytoplasm a mosaic appearance in which different zones can be designated as arising from separate cells. This observation suggests, however, that there is slow diffusion of myoblast contents (ribosomes and, possibly, other materials) into the myotube. In agreement with the previous works at the light microscopic level, the present study suggests the occurence of fusion between mononucleated cells, between mononucleated cells and multinucleated myotubes, and between nascent multinucleated myotubes.
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1 January 1971
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January 01 1971
ELECTRON MICROSCOPE OBSERVATIONS ON THE FUSION OF CHICK MYOBLASTS IN VITRO
Yutaka Shimada
Yutaka Shimada
From the Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
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Yutaka Shimada
From the Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
Received:
May 08 1970
Revision Received:
June 29 1970
Online ISSN: 1540-8140
Print ISSN: 0021-9525
Copyright © 1970 by The Rockefeller University Press
1971
J Cell Biol (1971) 48 (1): 128–142.
Article history
Received:
May 08 1970
Revision Received:
June 29 1970
Citation
Yutaka Shimada; ELECTRON MICROSCOPE OBSERVATIONS ON THE FUSION OF CHICK MYOBLASTS IN VITRO . J Cell Biol 1 January 1971; 48 (1): 128–142. doi: https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.48.1.128
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