Myoblasts derived from normal hESCs and dystrophic hiPSCs efficiently fuse with existing muscle fibers following transplantation

Mol Ther. 2012 Nov;20(11):2153-67. doi: 10.1038/mt.2012.188. Epub 2012 Sep 18.

Abstract

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have an endless self-renewal capacity and can theoretically differentiate into all types of lineages. They thus represent an unlimited source of cells for therapies of regenerative diseases, such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), and for tissue repair in specific medical fields. However, at the moment, the low number of efficient specific lineage differentiation protocols compromises their use in regenerative medicine. We developed a two-step procedure to differentiate hESCs and dystrophic hiPSCs in myogenic cells. The first step was a culture in a myogenic medium and the second step an infection with an adenovirus expressing the myogenic master gene MyoD. Following infection, the cells expressed several myogenic markers and formed abundant multinucleated myotubes in vitro. When transplanted in the muscle of Rag/mdx mice, these cells participated in muscle regeneration by fusing very well with existing muscle fibers. Our findings provide an effective method that will permit to use hESCs or hiPSCs for preclinical studies in muscle repair.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Cell Fusion
  • Cell Shape
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Culture Media
  • Dystrophin / metabolism
  • Embryonic Stem Cells / physiology*
  • Embryonic Stem Cells / transplantation
  • Humans
  • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / physiology*
  • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / transplantation
  • Lamin Type A / metabolism
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred mdx
  • Muscle, Skeletal / metabolism
  • Muscle, Skeletal / pathology
  • Muscle, Skeletal / physiopathology*
  • Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne / pathology
  • Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne / physiopathology
  • Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne / therapy*
  • MyoD Protein / genetics
  • MyoD Protein / metabolism
  • Myoblasts, Skeletal / metabolism
  • Myoblasts, Skeletal / pathology
  • Myoblasts, Skeletal / transplantation*
  • Regeneration
  • Spectrin / metabolism
  • Transfection

Substances

  • Culture Media
  • Dystrophin
  • Lamin Type A
  • MyoD Protein
  • MyoD1 myogenic differentiation protein
  • Spectrin