Why muscle wasting diseases may not require stem cell treatment after all

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Why muscle wasting diseases may not require stem cell treatment after

all

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/99423.php

Muscle wasting, also known as muscle atrophy, can be caused by

inactivity, injury, disease, aging, and medication. Many studies have

shown that muscle atrophy is accompanied by death of the DNA-

containing myonuclei of muscle fibers, which would mean that recovery

from muscle atrophy would require replenishment from muscle stem

cells.

In a new study, Jo Bruusgaard and Kristian Gundersen at the

University of Oslo, Norway, used time-lapse microscopy of mouse

muscle fibers and myonuclei during atrophy to investigate this

process. When mice were subjected to muscle atrophy by various

methods, physical evidence of wasting was apparent by significantly

decreased muscle fiber areas. However, myonuclei death was not

observed in any case during the 28 days of monitoring. The authors

concluded therefore that intervention efforts to reverse muscle

atrophy should not focus on muscle stem cells.

TITLE: In vivo time-lapse microscopy reveals no loss of murine

myonuclei during weeks of muscle atrophy

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Kristian Gundersen

University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway