Coaxing stem cells for skeletal muscle repair

Abstract

Skeletal muscle has a tremendous ability to regenerate, attributed to a well-defined population of muscle stem cells called satellite cells. However, this ability to regenerate diminishes with age and can also be dramatically affected by multiple types of muscle diseases, or injury. Extrinsic and/or intrinsic defects in the regulation of satellite cells are considered to be major determinants for the diminished regenerative capacity. Maintenance and replenishment of the satellite cell pool is one focus for muscle regenerative medicine, which will be discussed. There are other sources of progenitor cells with myogenic capacity, which may also support skeletal muscle repair. However, all of these myogenic cell populations have inherent difficulties and challenges in maintaining or coaxing their derivation for therapeutic purpose. This review will highlight recent reported attributes of these cells and new bioengineering approaches to creating a supply of myogenic stem cells or implants applicable for acute and/or chronic muscle disorders.

Induction of CCAAT/Enhancer-Binding Protein β Expression With the Phosphodiesterase Inhibitor Isobutylmethylxanthine Improves Myoblast Engraftment Into Dystrophic Muscle

“…Postnatal growth and repair of skeletal muscle depend on muscle precursor cells, termed satellite cells [1,2]. These normally quiescent cells activate upon injury, re-enter the cell cycle, upregulate the myogenic factor MyoD, differentiate, and fuse to give rise to new myofibers or to repair damaged ones [3].…”

Synergizing Engineering and Biology to Treat and Model Skeletal Muscle Injury and Disease

“…Thus, the ability to re-create a niche environment in vitro may enable robust expansion of SCs while maintaining their stemness, which would be expected to increase their therapeutic capacity compared with the use of more committed myogenic cells (97, 98). Furthermore, systematic studies of the in vitro, reconstructed SC niche could help dissect how specific cellular and ECM components of the niche regulate myogenesis and self-repair of healthy, diseased, and aged muscle (97).…”

Myogenic potential of human alveolar mucosa derived cells

“…2 Some of these diseases are potentially lethal, standard methods of their treatment, nevertheless, are often ineffective. 3 The use of myogenic cells is considered to be one of the most promising approaches to treatment of muscular disorders.…”