A new method of converting stem cells into myocytes has been developed
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, working under the guidance of Associate Professor Masatoshi Suzuki, have developed a new method for obtaining large quantities of skeletal muscle cells and muscle progenitor cells from human pluripotent stem cells. This technique is applicable to both embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells.
This micrograph shows green-colored muscle cells grown from human embryonic stem cells. The cell nuclei are colored blue, and muscle fibers are characterized by multiple nuclei.
According to Suzuki, experts have long been looking for an easy way to effectively differentiate stem cells into muscle cells suitable for use in clinical practice. He believes that his group managed to solve this problem by adapting a method previously used to transform stem cells into neurons.
An important advantage of the new approach over existing methods of obtaining muscle cells is that it allows you to obtain a large number of cells without genetic intervention. The secret lies in growing cells in the form of spheres floating freely in an environment containing high concentrations of two growth factors: fibroblast growth factor-2 and epidermal growth factor. The combination of these two factors triggers the differentiation of pluripotent cells into muscle cells.
In addition, the new protocol has a number of advantages. Firstly, the cell culture medium does not contain animal products, which further increases the safety of the resulting cells from the point of view of clinical use. Secondly, growing cells in the form of spheres significantly accelerates their division and increase in number. Thirdly, 40-60% of the cells of the resulting population are mature myocytes or muscle progenitor cells, which significantly exceeds the results provided by earlier non-genetic methods of obtaining muscle cells from iPSCs or ESCs.
Last year, Suzuki demonstrated that transplantation of a different type of human stem cells provided a certain improvement in survival and muscle function in a rat model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Charcot's disease. (This disease is accompanied by degradation of muscle fibers and loss of control over skeletal muscles.) The progenitor cells obtained using the method proposed by the authors can have a similar and, possibly, much more pronounced effect.
The new method can also be used to grow muscle cells from iPSCs of patients with Charcot's disease, spinal muscular atrophy and other myopathies. The resulting cultures of cells carrying certain genetic mutations can be used to study the diseases caused by them and to screen experimental drugs.
Suzuki and his colleagues hope that further improvement of the composition of the culture medium of stem cell spheres will further increase the number of muscle cell populations obtained, which will facilitate the transfer of the method into clinical practice.
Article by T. Hosoyama et al. The Derivation of Myogenic Progenitors Directly From Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Using a Sphere-Based Culture is published in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of the University of Wisconsin-Madison:
Researchers discover new way to make muscle cells from human stem cells.
25.03.2014