Making skeletal muscle from progenitor and stem cells: development versus regeneration

Abstract

For locomotion, vertebrate animals use the force generated by contractile skeletal muscles. These muscles form an actin/myosin‐based biomachinery that is attached to skeletal elements to affect body movement and maintain posture. The mechanics, physiology, and homeostasis of skeletal muscles in normal and disease states are of significant clinical interest. How muscles originate from progenitors during embryogenesis has attracted considerable attention from developmental biologists. How skeletal muscles regenerate and repair themselves after injury by the use of stem cells is an important process to maintain muscle homeostasis throughout lifetime. In recent years, much progress has been made toward uncovering the origins of myogenic progenitors and stem cells as well as the regulation of these cells during development and regeneration. WIREs Dev Biol 2012, 1:315–327. doi: 10.1002/wdev.30 This article is categorized under: Signaling Pathways > Cell Fate Signaling Vertebrate Organogenesis > Musculoskeletal and Vascular Adult Stem Cells, Tissue Renewal, and Regeneration > Tissue Stem Cells and Niches Adult Stem Cells, Tissue Renewal, and Regeneration > Regeneration