It is a well-known fact that cells need a steady flow of energy for bodily functions to go smoothly, but the cellular metabolism undergoes several adjustments during starvation periods to guarantee a steady supply of energy. In a new study, FMP researchers gained new insights into the cell changes caused by starvation while investigating a rare genetic muscle disease known as X-linked centronuclear myopathy (XLCNM).

In this condition, the X chromosome’s faulty gene causes a skeletal muscle developmental abnormality. The researchers observed that the genetic defect affects the lipid phosphatase MTM1, which controls the signaling lipid on endosomes and is involved in the sorting of nutrient receptors. They also observed that there were structural changes in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), a membrane network that spans the entire cell.

In healthy cells, the ER forms a large, interconnected network of "flattened," membrane-enclosed sacs near the nucleus of the cell and narrow tubules in the cell periphery. In diseased cells, the membrane-enclosed sacs in the endoplasmic reticulum were perforated. They explained that this altered structure of the ER enabled the mitochondria, spherical organelles that supply the cell with energy, and the ER to fuse. Once fused, it is very difficult to burn stored fats, thus resulting in severe energy deficiency in the cell. 

(Source: https://theprint.in/health/study-reveals-cells-alter-themselves-if-body-is-subjected-to-starvation/1267367/ )