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Mutant Muscle
21 July 2012

Mutant Muscle

This may look like one of Spiderman’s enhanced muscles, strong enough to propel him to the top of a nearby building in a single bound. But in fact this image depicts a mutation with quite the opposite effect. These cells, from a skeletal muscle of a genetically mutated mouse, are very weak. Artificial colours highlight the cytoplasm (red) and membrane (green) of the cells under a microscope. Each cell nucleus (black dot) is central rather than at the edge of the cell membrane where it should be in muscle tissue. This rare condition, known as ‘centronuclear myopathy’ is caused by the mutation of just one gene, called Srpk3, which prevents the muscle from developing properly. Learning more about rare genetic mutations in mammals has direct benefits for us. One in 50,000 children is born with centronuclear myopathy and there is currently no cure.

Written by John Ankers

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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