Book Abstract
Exploring Muscle Function: Cellular Mechanisms and Disease Pathways Across Scales provides a comprehensive examination of muscle physiology, spanning from molecular machinery to whole-system function and clinical disease implications. Through an integrative, multi-scale lens, the book links fundamental biology to translational research and therapeutic innovation.
Designed for physiologists, biomedical researchers, clinicians, and graduate students, Exploring Muscle Function offers a layered and translational narrative?bridging molecular insights and systemic perspectives to illuminate how muscle operates in health, adapts in change, and falters in disease.
The section delves into the architecture and mechanics of muscle at the microscopic level: the structure and regulation of sarcomeres, motor proteins (myosin, actin), calcium signaling pathways, and mitochondrial energetics. It explores how these components interact, maintain homeostasis, respond to mechanical stress, and modulate muscle contractility.
Building on cellular insights, the middle section examines muscle fiber organization, neuromuscular junction dynamics, extracellular matrix remodeling, and functional adaptation to varied stimuli?such as exercise, immobilization, and aging. Key topics include satellite cell activation, angiogenesis, metabolic plasticity, and the influence of endocrine and inflammatory mediators on muscle health.
