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Douglas Millay, PhD

Professor-Affiliate

Pediatrics | College of Medicine

Contact Information
Research Interests

The Millay Lab is interested in understanding how precursor cells fuse to form multi-nucleated skeletal muscle. We recently discovered a necessary component (named myomaker) of the muscle fusion machinery. The lab's goal is to delineate the mechanisms by which this multi-pass membrane protein directs cell-cell fusion and manipulate muscle cell fusion as a strategy for in vivo cell therapy.

Peer Reviewed Publications

Hindi, Sajedah M; Millay, Douglas P 2022. All for One and One for All: Regenerating Skeletal Muscle. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology, 14 8,

Millay, Douglas P 2022. Regulation of the myoblast fusion reaction for muscle development, regeneration, and adaptations. Experimental cell research, 415 2, 113134

Bengtsen, Mads; Winje, Ivan Myhre; Eftestøl, Einar; Landskron, Johannes; Sun, Chengyi; Nygård, Kamilla; Domanska, Diana; Millay, Douglas P; Meza-Zepeda, Leonardo A; Gundersen, Kristian 2021. Comparing the epigenetic landscape in myonuclei purified with a PCM1 antibody from a fast/glycolytic and a slow/oxidative muscle. PLoS genetics, 17 11, e1009907

Eder, Milton Mickey; Millay, Tamara A; Cottler, Linda B 2021. A compendium of community engagement responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of clinical and translational science, 5 1, e133

Eigler, Tamar; Zarfati, Giulia; Amzallag, Emmanuel; Sinha, Sansrity; Segev, Nadav; Zabary, Yishaia; Zaritsky, Assaf; Shakked, Avraham; Umansky, Kfir-Baruch; Schejter, Eyal D; Millay, Douglas P; Tzahor, Eldad; Avinoam, Ori 2021. ERK1/2 inhibition promotes robust myotube growth via CaMKII activation resulting in myoblast-to-myotube fusion. Developmental cell, 56 24, 3349-3363.e6

Girardi, Francesco; Taleb, Anissa; Ebrahimi, Majid; Datye, Asiman; Gamage, Dilani G; Peccate, Cécile; Giordani, Lorenzo; Millay, Douglas P; Gilbert, Penney M; Cadot, Bruno; Le Grand, Fabien 2021. TGF? signaling curbs cell fusion and muscle regeneration. Nature communications, 12 1, 750

Golani, Gonen; Leikina, Evgenia; Melikov, Kamran; Whitlock, Jarred M; Gamage, Dilani G; Luoma-Overstreet, Gracia; Millay, Douglas P; Kozlov, Michael M; Chernomordik, Leonid V 2021. Myomerger promotes fusion pore by elastic coupling between proximal membrane leaflets and hemifusion diaphragm. Nature communications, 12 1, 495

Milewski, David; Shukla, Samriddhi; Gryder, Berkley E; Pradhan, Arun; Donovan, Johnny; Sudha, Parvathi; Vallabh, Sushmitha; Pyros, Athena; Xu, Yan; Barski, Artem; Szabo, Sara; Turpin, Brian; Pressey, Joseph G; Millay, Douglas P; Khan, Javed; Kalinichenko, Vladimir V; Kalin, Tanya V 2021. FOXF1 is required for the oncogenic properties of PAX3-FOXO1 in rhabdomyosarcoma. Oncogene, 40 12, 2182-2199

Prasad, Vikram; Millay, Douglas P 2021. Skeletal muscle fibers count on nuclear numbers for growth. Seminars in cell & developmental biology, 119 , 3-10

Yaseen, Wesal; Kraft-Sheleg, Ortal; Zaffryar-Eilot, Shelly; Melamed, Shay; Sun, Chengyi; Millay, Douglas P; Hasson, Peleg 2021. Fibroblast fusion to the muscle fiber regulates myotendinous junction formation. Nature communications, 12 1, 3852

Cramer, Alyssa A W; Prasad, Vikram; Eftestøl, Einar; Song, Taejeong; Hansson, Kenth-Arne; Dugdale, Hannah F; Sadayappan, Sakthivel; Ochala, Julien; Gundersen, Kristian; Millay, Douglas P 2020. Nuclear numbers in syncytial muscle fibers promote size but limit the development of larger myonuclear domains. Nature communications, 11 1, 6287

Hansson, Kenth-Arne; Eftestøl, Einar; Bruusgaard, Jo C; Juvkam, Inga; Cramer, Alyssa W; Malthe-Sørenssen, Anders; Millay, Douglas P; Gundersen, Kristian 2020. Myonuclear content regulates cell size with similar scaling properties in mice and humans. Nature communications, 11 1, 6288

Leikina, Evgenia; Melikov, Kamran; Rabinovich, Anthony G; Millay, Douglas P; Chernomordik, Leonid V 2020. Lipid Mixing Assay for Murine Myoblast Fusion and Other Slow Cell-cell Fusion Processes. Bio-protocol, 10 5, e3544

Petrany, Michael J; Song, Taejeong; Sadayappan, Sakthivel; Millay, Douglas P 2020. Myocyte-derived Myomaker expression is required for regenerative fusion but exacerbates membrane instability in dystrophic myofibers. JCI insight, 5 9,

Petrany, Michael J; Swoboda, Casey O; Sun, Chengyi; Chetal, Kashish; Chen, Xiaoting; Weirauch, Matthew T; Salomonis, Nathan; Millay, Douglas P 2020. Single-nucleus RNA-seq identifies transcriptional heterogeneity in multinucleated skeletal myofibers. Nature communications, 11 1, 6374

Reid, Andrea L; Wang, Yimin; Samani, Adrienne; Hightower, Rylie M; Lopez, Michael A; Gilbert, Shawn R; Ianov, Lara; Crossman, David K; Dell'Italia, Louis J; Millay, Douglas P; van Groen, Thomas; Halade, Ganesh V; Alexander, Matthew S 2020. DOCK3 is a dosage-sensitive regulator of skeletal muscle and Duchenne muscular dystrophy-associated pathologies. Human molecular genetics, 29 17, 2855-2871

Aulet, Ricardo Mario; Trieu, Vanessa; Landrigan, Gary P; Millay, Donna J 2019. Changes in Opioid Prescribing Habits for Patients Undergoing Rhinoplasty and Septoplasty. JAMA facial plastic surgery, 21 6, 487-490

Goh, Qingnian; Song, Taejeong; Petrany, Michael J; Cramer, Alyssa Aw; Sun, Chengyi; Sadayappan, Sakthivel; Lee, Se-Jin; Millay, Douglas P 2019. Myonuclear accretion is a determinant of exercise-induced remodeling in skeletal muscle. eLife, 8 ,

Nikolaou, Sia; Cramer, Alyssa Aw; Hu, Liangjun; Goh, Qingnian; Millay, Douglas P; Cornwall, Roger 2019. Proteasome inhibition preserves longitudinal growth of denervated muscle and prevents neonatal neuromuscular contractures. JCI insight, 4 23,

Petrany, Michael J; Millay, Douglas P 2019. Cell Fusion: Merging Membranes and Making Muscle. Trends in cell biology, 29 12, 964-973

Song, Taejeong; Manoharan, Palanikumar; Millay, Douglas P; Koch, Sheryl E; Rubinstein, Jack; Heiny, Judith A; Sadayappan, Sakthivel 2019. Dilated cardiomyopathy-mediated heart failure induces a unique skeletal muscle myopathy with inflammation. Skeletal muscle, 9 1, 4

Leikina, Evgenia; Gamage, Dilani G; Prasad, Vikram; Goykhberg, Joanna; Crowe, Michael; Diao, Jiajie; Kozlov, Michael M; Chernomordik, Leonid V; Millay, Douglas P 2018. Myomaker and Myomerger Work Independently to Control Distinct Steps of Membrane Remodeling during Myoblast Fusion. Developmental cell, 46 6, 767-780.e7

Sampath, Srihari C; Sampath, Srinath C; Millay, Douglas P 2018. Myoblast fusion confusion: the resolution begins. Skeletal muscle, 8 1, 3

Gamage, Dilani G; Leikina, Eugenia; Quinn, Malgorzata E; Ratinov, Anthony; Chernomordik, Leonid V; Millay, Douglas P 2017. Insights into the localization and function of myomaker during myoblast fusion. The Journal of biological chemistry, 292 42, 17272-17289

Goh, Qingnian; Millay, Douglas P 2017. Requirement of myomaker-mediated stem cell fusion for skeletal muscle hypertrophy. eLife, 6 ,

Mitani, Yasuyuki; Vagnozzi, Ronald J; Millay, Douglas P 2017. In vivo myomaker-mediated heterologous fusion and nuclear reprogramming. FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, 31 1, 400-411

Quinn, Malgorzata E; Goh, Qingnian; Kurosaka, Mitsutoshi; Gamage, Dilani G; Petrany, Michael J; Prasad, Vikram; Millay, Douglas P 2017. Myomerger induces fusion of non-fusogenic cells and is required for skeletal muscle development. Nature communications, 8 , 15665

Millay, Douglas P; Gamage, Dilani G; Quinn, Malgorzata E; Min, Yi-Li; Mitani, Yasuyuki; Bassel-Duby, Rhonda; Olson, Eric N 2016. Structure-function analysis of myomaker domains required for myoblast fusion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113 8, 2116-21

Zeve, Daniel; Millay, Douglas P; Seo, Jin; Graff, Jonathan M 2016. Exercise-Induced Skeletal Muscle Adaptations Alter the Activity of Adipose Progenitor Cells. PloS one, 11 3, e0152129

Burr, Adam R; Millay, Douglas P; Goonasekera, Sanjeewa A; Park, Ki Ho; Sargent, Michelle A; Collins, James; Altamirano, Francisco; Philipson, Kenneth D; Allen, Paul D; Ma, Jianjie; López, José Rafael; Molkentin, Jeffery D 2014. Na+ dysregulation coupled with Ca2+ entry through NCX1 promotes muscular dystrophy in mice. Molecular and cellular biology, 34 11, 1991-2002

Millay, Douglas P; Sutherland, Lillian B; Bassel-Duby, Rhonda; Olson, Eric N 2014. Myomaker is essential for muscle regeneration. Genes & development, 28 15, 1641-6

Millay, Douglas P; Olson, Eric N 2013. Making muscle or mitochondria by selective splicing of PGC-1?. Cell metabolism, 17 1, 3-4

Millay, Douglas P; O'Rourke, Jason R; Sutherland, Lillian B; Bezprozvannaya, Svetlana; Shelton, John M; Bassel-Duby, Rhonda; Olson, Eric N 2013. Myomaker is a membrane activator of myoblast fusion and muscle formation. Nature, 499 7458, 301-5

Hatley, Mark E; Tang, Wei; Garcia, Matthew R; Finkelstein, David; Millay, Douglas P; Liu, Ning; Graff, Jonathan; Galindo, Rene L; Olson, Eric N 2012. A mouse model of rhabdomyosarcoma originating from the adipocyte lineage. Cancer cell, 22 4, 536-46

Zeve, Daniel; Seo, Jin; Suh, Jae Myoung; Stenesen, Drew; Tang, Wei; Berglund, Eric D; Wan, Yihong; Williams, Linda J; Lim, Ajin; Martinez, Myrna J; McKay, Renée M; Millay, Douglas P; Olson, Eric N; Graff, Jonathan M 2012. Wnt signaling activation in adipose progenitors promotes insulin-independent muscle glucose uptake. Cell metabolism, 15 4, 492-504

Goonasekera, Sanjeewa A; Lam, Chi K; Millay, Douglas P; Sargent, Michelle A; Hajjar, Roger J; Kranias, Evangelia G; Molkentin, Jeffery D 2011. Mitigation of muscular dystrophy in mice by SERCA overexpression in skeletal muscle. The Journal of clinical investigation, 121 3, 1044-52

Pei, Jimin; Millay, Douglas P; Olson, Eric N; Grishin, Nick V 2011. CREST--a large and diverse superfamily of putative transmembrane hydrolases. Biology direct, 6 , 37

Wansapura, Janaka P; Millay, Douglas P; Dunn, R Scott; Molkentin, Jeffery D; Benson, D Woodrow 2011. Magnetic resonance imaging assessment of cardiac dysfunction in ?-sarcoglycan null mice. Neuromuscular disorders : NMD, 21 1, 68-73

Wissing, Erin R; Millay, Douglas P; Vuagniaux, Grégoire; Molkentin, Jeffery D 2010. Debio-025 is more effective than prednisone in reducing muscular pathology in mdx mice. Neuromuscular disorders : NMD, 20 11, 753-60

Millay, Douglas P; Goonasekera, Sanjeewa A; Sargent, Michelle A; Maillet, Marjorie; Aronow, Bruce J; Molkentin, Jeffery D 2009. Calcium influx is sufficient to induce muscular dystrophy through a TRPC-dependent mechanism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106 45, 19023-8

Millay, Douglas P; Maillet, Marjorie; Roche, Joseph A; Sargent, Michelle A; McNally, Elizabeth M; Bloch, Robert J; Molkentin, Jeffery D 2009. Genetic manipulation of dysferlin expression in skeletal muscle: novel insights into muscular dystrophy. The American journal of pathology, 175 5, 1817-23

Millay, Douglas P; Sargent, Michelle A; Osinska, Hanna; Baines, Christopher P; Barton, Elisabeth R; Vuagniaux, Grégoire; Sweeney, H Lee; Robbins, Jeffrey; Molkentin, Jeffery D 2008. Genetic and pharmacologic inhibition of mitochondrial-dependent necrosis attenuates muscular dystrophy. Nature medicine, 14 4, 442-7

Parsons, Stephanie A; Millay, Douglas P; Sargent, Michelle A; Naya, Francisco J; McNally, Elizabeth M; Sweeney, H Lee; Molkentin, Jeffery D 2007. Genetic disruption of calcineurin improves skeletal muscle pathology and cardiac disease in a mouse model of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy. The Journal of biological chemistry, 282 13, 10068-78

Parsons, Stephanie A; Millay, Douglas P; Sargent, Michelle A; McNally, Elizabeth M; Molkentin, Jeffery D 2006. Age-dependent effect of myostatin blockade on disease severity in a murine model of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy. The American journal of pathology, 168 6, 1975-85

Parsons, Stephanie A; Millay, Douglas P; Wilkins, Benjamin J; Bueno, Orlando F; Tsika, Gretchen L; Neilson, Joel R; Liberatore, Christine M; Yutzey, Katherine E; Crabtree, Gerald R; Tsika, Richard W; Molkentin, Jeffery D 2004. Genetic loss of calcineurin blocks mechanical overload-induced skeletal muscle fiber type switching but not hypertrophy. The Journal of biological chemistry, 279 25, 26192-200