Muscle Structure and Function in Health and Disease

Dear Colleagues,

Striated muscle contraction is achieved via cyclic interactions between myosin-containing thick filaments and actin-containing thin filaments. Muscle contraction is highly regulated in order to meet the body’s specific needs. The mechanism of muscle regulation has traditionally been regarded as calcium-dependent and based on the thin filament. It is now realized that both the thin and thick filaments play roles in activating the sarcomere. Many inherited diseases in skeletal and cardiac muscle originate from mutations in sarcomeric proteins. Developing rational therapeutic strategies will require a detailed understanding of the structural and functional regulations of muscles under physiological states in healthy individuals, as well as dysregulations under pathological conditions in diseases.

The aim of this Special Issue is to bring together original articles and reviews on the structural and functional regulation and dysregulation in normal and diseased cardiac and skeletal muscle tissues. Potential topics include, but are not limited to: (1) the roles of thin filament proteins in muscle regulation; (2) the roles of thick filament proteins in muscle regulation; (3) the roles of Z-line and M-line proteins in muscle regulation; (4) the roles of elastic proteins in muscle regulation; and (5) pharmaceutical and investigational interventions in muscle regulation.

Dr. Weikang Ma
Guest Editor

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• muscle regulation
• structure
• contractility
• myosin
• actin
• titin
• myopathies
• cardiomyopathies