Nodal Modulator (NOMO) is a force-bearing transmembrane protein required for muscle differentiation

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) relies on specialized membrane-shaping proteins to maintain a continuous network of sheets and tubules that host distinct biological processes. How this intricate structure of the ER membrane system is maintained under conditions of mechanical strain is incompletely understood. NOMO is an ER-resident transmembrane protein that contributes to ER morphology and is highly expressed in striated muscle. In this study, we identify a critical interface between distal Ig domains that enables NOMO to maintain ER morphology and buffer mechanical forces. By incorporating two independent tension sensors in the luminal domain of NOMO, we demonstrate that NOMO assemblies experience forces in the single piconewton (pN) range, with a significant contribution from the identified interface. These newly defined features are important, if not indispensable, for myogenesis, as interface mutations affecting mechanosensing fail to restore the essential role of NOMO during myogenesis in a C2C12 differentiation model. Moreover, NOMO depletion impairs nematode motility, underscoring a broader functional importance in muscle physiology.