Stem cell transplants in mice produce lifelong enhancement of muscle mass

[Kadie]

Stem cell transplants in mice produce lifelong enhancement of muscle mass

Public release date: 10-Nov-2010

Findings may have potential for future treatment of patients with chronic, degenerative muscle diseases

A University of Colorado at Boulder-led study shows that specific types of stem cells transplanted into the leg muscles of mice prevented the loss of muscle function and mass that normally occurs with aging, a finding with potential uses in treating humans with chronic, degenerative muscle diseases.

The experiments showed that when young host mice with limb muscle injuries were injected with muscle stem cells from young donor mice, the cells not only repaired the injury within days, they caused the treated muscle to double in mass and sustain itself through the lifetime of the transplanted mice. "This was a very exciting and unexpected result," said Professor Bradley Olwin of CU-Boulder's molecular, cellular and developmental biology department, the study's corresponding author.

Muscle stem cells are found within populations of "satellite" cells located between muscle fibers and surrounding connective tissue and are responsible for the repair and maintenance of skeletal muscles, said Olwin. The researchers transplanted between 10 and 50 stem cells along with attached myofibers -- which are individual skeletal muscle cells -- from the donor mice into the host mice.

"We found that the transplanted stem cells are permanently altered and reduce the aging of the transplanted muscle, maintaining strength and mass," said Olwin.

more...
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-11/uoca-sct110810.php



Muscle stem cell transplants slow muscle aging as seen in this image of sections through the middle of mouse muscle showing connective tissue in this undated handout image. REUTERS/John K. Hal and Bradley B. Olwin/Handout