Posted on 1 March 2016
Fetal muscle stem cells have extraordinary regenerative capabilities compared to adult ones, but how do they do it? They remodel their environment to aid repair
You don’t need to be a scientists to know muscle repair declines with age, but fetal stem cells may offer a solution – helping us to boost stem cell activity and enhance rejuvenation. A wasting problem The dangers of muscle atrophy can’t be overstated in the elderly. Muscle wastage contributes to a huge drop in quality of life for many people, and while exercises and diet can delay decline to an extent, we need more potent solutions to the problem. We shouldn’t forget there are also many people living with currently debilitating muscular dystrophies that could benefit from such a treatment too.“We found that fetal MuSCs remodel their microenvironment by secreting specific proteins, and then examined whether that same microenvironment can encourage adult MuSCs to more efficiently generate new muscle. It does, which means that how adult MuSCs normally support muscle growth is not an intrinsic characteristic, but can be changed”
A cell’s local environment plays an important role in determining its behaviour Credit: Klingberg et al. (2014) J. Cell Biol. 207:283-297
“Our findings fit with the growing appreciation of the importance of a cell’s structural and biochemical surroundings in influencing cellular behavior. Managing the microenvironment is an emerging approach to treat many diseases, from cancer to cardiovascular disease to neurodegeneration. We’re excited about the implications of our research for treating muscle diseases, and look forward to applying our conclusions toward development of therapies”
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