Skeletal muscle regeneration via the chemical induction and expansion of myogenic stem cells in situ or in vitro

Jun Fang, Junren Sia, Jennifer Soto, Pingping Wang, Lee Ann K. Li, Yuan Yu Hsueh, Raymond Sun, Kym Francis Faull, James G. Tidball, Song Li

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

36 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Muscle loss and impairment resulting from traumatic injury can be alleviated by therapies using muscle stem cells. However, collecting sufficient numbers of autologous myogenic stem cells and expanding them efficiently has been challenging. Here we show that myogenic stem cells (predominantly Pax7+ cells)—which were selectively expanded from readily obtainable dermal fibroblasts or skeletal muscle stem cells using a specific cocktail of small molecules and transplanted into muscle injuries in adult, aged or dystrophic mice—led to functional muscle regeneration in the three animal models. We also show that sustained release of the small-molecule cocktail in situ through polymer nanoparticles led to muscle repair by inducing robust activation and expansion of resident satellite cells. Chemically induced stem cell expansion in vitro and in situ may prove to be advantageous for stem cell therapies that aim to regenerate skeletal muscle and other tissues.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)864-879
Number of pages16
JournalNature Biomedical Engineering
Volume5
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021 Aug

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Biotechnology
  • Bioengineering
  • Medicine (miscellaneous)
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Computer Science Applications

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