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Scientists have made a breakthrough discovery which allows them to create contracting muscle fibres using stem cells. It also allows them to create muscle fibres that 10 times stronger than our own.

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) built the muscle cells from precursor cells. The study, published Nature Biotechnology, mimicked important developmental cues to push the cells into becoming muscle fibres. The end result was millimetre-long muscle fibres that can contract and multiply.

Previous studies had used genetic modifications to create a small number of muscle cells. This study uses an approach that coaxes precursor cells into producing huge numbers of muscle cells.

One of the authors of the paper, Dr. Olivier Pourquie, explains: “We analysed each stage of early development and generated cell lines that glowed green when they reached each stage. Going step by step, we managed to mimic each stage of development and coax cells toward muscle cell fate.”

The research team were able to create the muscle cells from both mouse and human pluripotent stem cells. A future treatment using stem cells for muscular dystrophy may be a possibility with experiments telling researchers more about the relationship between the disease and muscle cells. Stem cells taken from a mouse with muscular dystrophy demonstrated the same pattern exhibited by the disease when they were cultured.

The ability to produce muscle cells in the laboratory indicates that a treatment using stem cells for muscular dystrophy may not be far away.

The discovery may also lead to treatments for other muscular diseases including sarcopenia (degenerative muscle loss) and cachexia (where muscles waste away during severe illness).

Source: Scientists Use Stem Cells To Create Muscle Fibers In A Lab; May Help People With Muscular Dystrophy

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