Myonuclear content regulates cell size with similar scaling properties in mice and humans

Muscle fibers are the largest cells in the body, and one of its few syncytia. Individual cell sizes are variable and adaptable, but what governs cell size has been unclear. We find that muscle fibers are DNA scarce compared to other cells, and that the nuclear number (N) adheres to the relationship N = aVb where V is the cytoplasmic volume. N invariably scales sublinearly to V (b
Muscle fibers are the largest cells in the body and contain less DNA per unit volume than other cells even if they have multiple nuclei. Here, the authors show that the number of nuclei regulates the cell size with similar scaling properties in mice and humans.