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Mechanism For Regulation Of Growth And Differentiation Of Adult Muscle Stem Cells Is Revealed

Date:
December 10, 2007
Source:
Burnham Institute
Summary:
During muscle regeneration, a natural response to injury and disease, environmental cues cause adult muscle stem cells to shift from dormancy to actively building new muscle tissue. Scientists analyzed the mechanism by which certain cellular signaling cues cause epigenetic modifications when released within the regenerative microenvironment, thus controlling the expression of genes that regulate growth and differentiation of muscle stem cells that repair injured muscle.
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During muscle regeneration, which is a natural response to injury and disease, environmental cues cause adult muscle stem cells (satellite cells) to shift from dormancy to actively building new muscle tissue.

Although the signaling pathways controlling muscle regeneration are fairly well known, how these signals lead to altered chromatin structure remains undiscovered.

A group of scientists at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research in La Jolla, CA, analyzed the mechanism by which certain cellular signaling cues cause epigenetic modifications when released within the regenerative microenvironment, thus controlling the expression of genes that regulate growth and differentiation of muscle stem cells that repair injured muscle.

In a recent publication in Molecular Cell, the scientific group, led by Pier Lorenzo Puri, MD, Ph.D., shows how two signaling pathways, PI3K/AKT and p38, work together to assemble components of the protein complexes responsible for muscle-specific transcription, and how each pathway is responsible for a distinct step in the transcription process.

Additionally, the team was able to pharmacologically separate these two steps, showing that selective interference with either cascade leads to incomplete assembly of protein complexes, thus preventing muscle-specific gene expression.

The results point to possible pharmacological avenues for selective control of gene expression in adult muscle stem cells that may have therapeutic potential in regenerative medicine.


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Materials provided by Burnham Institute. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Cite This Page:

Burnham Institute. "Mechanism For Regulation Of Growth And Differentiation Of Adult Muscle Stem Cells Is Revealed." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 December 2007. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071207150725.htm>.
Burnham Institute. (2007, December 10). Mechanism For Regulation Of Growth And Differentiation Of Adult Muscle Stem Cells Is Revealed. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071207150725.htm
Burnham Institute. "Mechanism For Regulation Of Growth And Differentiation Of Adult Muscle Stem Cells Is Revealed." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071207150725.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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