Muscle development, regeneration and laminopathies: how lamins or lamina-associated proteins can contribute to muscle development, regeneration and disease.

The aim of this review article is to evaluate the current knowledge on associations between muscle formation and regeneration and components of the nuclear lamina. Lamins and their partners have become particularly intriguing objects of scientific interest since it has been observed that mutations in genes coding for these proteins lead to a wide range of diseases called laminopathies. For over the last 10 years, various laboratories worldwide have tried to explain the pathogenesis of these rare disorders. Analyses of the distinct aspects of laminopathies resulted in formulation of different hypotheses regarding the mechanisms of the development of these diseases. In the light of recent discoveries, A-type lamins--the main building blocks of the nuclear lamina--together with other key elements, such as emerin, LAP2α and nesprins, seem to be of great importance in the modulation of various signaling pathways responsible for cellular differentiation and proliferation.