Abstract
This study reports on the time-lapse observation of sarcomere assembly under optically-induced calcium transients. C2C12 muscle cells were genetically modified with optically-sensitive channelrhodopsin to induce calcium transients, and alpha-actinin sarcomeric proteins fused with red fluorescent protein for live imaging. Myotubes (muscle cells) were stimulated using blue light at varying frequencies, and time-lapse fluorescence imaging was done on live cells over 4 hours to observe sarcomere assembly. Fast Fourier Transform was employed to qualitatively analyze the degree of sarcomere formation. Based on our experimental results, myotubes under optical stimulation showed earlier sarcomere formation compared to myotubes that were not stimulated.
