Muscle membrane repair and inflammatory attack in dysferlinopathy

Repair of plasma membrane tears is an important normal physiological process that enables the cells to survive a variety of physiological and pathological membrane lesions. Dysferlin was the first protein reported to play a crucial role in this repair process in muscle, and recently, several other proteins including Mitsugumin 53 (MG53), annexin and calpain were also found to participate. These findings have now established the framework of the membrane repair mechanism. Defective membrane repair in dysferlin-deficient muscle leads to the development of muscular dystrophy associated with remarkable muscle inflammation. Recent studies have demonstrated a crosstalk between defective membrane repair and immunological attack, thus unveiling a new pathophysiological mechanism of dysferlinopathy. Here I summarize and discuss the latest progress in the molecular mechanisms of membrane repair and the pathogenesis of dysferlinopathy. Discussion about potential therapeutic applications of these findings is also provided.