ArticleNature communications2017
The microprotein Minion controls cell fusion and muscle formation.
Article in Nature communications, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 157 papers.
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Who cites it
157 citing papers in PubMed, 258 citations in OpenAlex.
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- TWEAK-induced alternative NF-κB signaling regulates Cxcl10 and Mymx to promote myoblast-to-myotube fusion and muscle regeneration.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Myomaker and Myomixer are required for craniofacial myoblast fusion in zebrafish.Developmental dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists · 2026Article
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- LncRNA H19-Encoded Micropeptide altH19 Promotes DNA Replication and Mitosis in Myeloma Cells by Enhancing the Phosphorylation of CDK2 at Threonine 160.Cell proliferation · 2026Article
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- CHAMP1 is an essential regulator for human myoblast fusion and muscle development.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Development of a split-toxin CRISPR screening platform to systematically identify regulators of human myoblast fusion.Nature communications · 2026Article
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- Dynamic expression and differential requirement of the myocyte fusogen Myomixer during distinct myogenic episodes in the zebrafish.Biology open · 2025Article
- Muscle-specific gene editing therapy via mammalian fusogen-directed virus-like particles.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Mitochondrial Microproteins: Emerging Regulators in Neurodevelopment and Neurodegeneration.BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology · 2025Review
- Differentially expressed fusogens specify myocyte states to drive myogenesis.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2025Article
- Exploring the Regulation ofJournal of developmental biology · 2025Article
97 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
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.
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