6 research outputs found
Mouse gastrocnemius muscle regeneration after mechanical or cardiotoxin injury
The goal of our study was to compare the skeletal muscle regeneration induced by two types of injury: either crushing, that causes muscle degeneration as a result of mechanical devastation of myofibers, or the injection of a cardiotoxin that is a myotoxic agent causing myolysis of myofibers leading to muscle degeneration. Regenerating muscles were analyzed at selected intervals, until the 14th day following the injury. We analyzed their weight and morphology. We also studied the expression of different myosin heavy chain isoforms as a molecular marker of the regeneration progress. Histological analysis revealed that inflammatory response and myotube formation in crushed muscles was delayed compared to cardiotoxin-injected ones. Moreover, the expression of myosin heavy chain isoforms was observed earlier in cardiotoxin-injured versus crushed muscles. We conclude that the dynamics of skeletal muscle regeneration depends on the method of injury
Myogenic Differentiation of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells That Lack a Functional Pax7 Gene
The transcription factor Pax7 plays a key role during embryonic myogenesis and sustains the proper function of
satellite cells, which serve as adult skeletal muscle stem cells. Overexpression of Pax7 has been shown to
promote the myogenic differentiation of pluripotent stem cells. However, the effects of the absence of functional
Pax7 in differentiating embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have not yet been directly tested. Herein, we studied
mouse stem cells that lacked a functional Pax7 gene and characterized the differentiation of these stem cells
under conditions that promoted the derivation of myoblasts in vitro. We analyzed the expression of myogenic
factors, such as myogenic regulatory factors and muscle-specific microRNAs, in wild-type and mutant cells.
Finally, we compared the transcriptome of both types of cells and did not find substantial differences in the
expression of genes related to the regulation of myogenesis. As a result, we showed that the absence of
functional Pax7 does not prevent the in vitro myogenic differentiation of ESCs
Cell cycle regulation of embryonic stem cells and mouse embryonic fibroblasts lacking functional Pax7
The transcription factor Pax7 plays a key role during embryonic myogenesis and in adult organisms in that
it sustains the proper function of satellite cells, which serve as adult skeletal muscle stem cells. Recently
we have shown that lack of Pax7 does not prevent the myogenic differentiation of pluripotent stem cells.
In the current work we show that the absence of functional Pax7 in differentiating embryonic stem cells
modulates cell cycle facilitating their proliferation. Surprisingly, deregulation of Pax7 function also
positively impacts at the proliferation of mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Such phenotypes seem to be
executed by modulating the expression of positive cell cycle regulators, such as cyclin E
IL-4 and SDF-1 Increase Adipose Tissue-Derived Stromal Cell Ability to Improve Rat Skeletal Muscle Regeneration
Skeletal muscle regeneration depends on the satellite cells, which, in response to injury, activate, proliferate, and reconstruct damaged tissue. However, under certain conditions, such as large injuries or myopathies, these cells might not sufficiently support repair. Thus, other cell populations, among them adipose tissue-derived stromal cells (ADSCs), are tested as a tool to improve regeneration. Importantly, the pro-regenerative action of such cells could be improved by various factors. In the current study, we tested whether IL-4 and SDF-1 could improve the ability of ADSCs to support the regeneration of rat skeletal muscles. We compared their effect at properly regenerating fast-twitch EDL and poorly regenerating slow-twitch soleus. To this end, ADSCs subjected to IL-4 and SDF-1 were analyzed in vitro and also in vivo after their transplantation into injured muscles. We tested their proliferation rate, migration, expression of stem cell markers and myogenic factors, their ability to fuse with myoblasts, as well as their impact on the mass, structure and function of regenerating muscles. As a result, we showed that cytokine-pretreated ADSCs had a beneficial effect in the regeneration process. Their presence resulted in improved muscle structure and function, as well as decreased fibrosis development and a modulated immune response