MUSCLE PROGENITOR CELLS - CHARACTERISTIC AND FUNCTION

Muscle satellite cells (mSC) are heterogenic population of stem and progenitor cells of skeletal muscle, which are responsible for regeneration of this tissue. mSC remain on periphery of muscle fibres in a quiescent state, become activated upon damage and convert to proliferating myoblasts. Some of them self-renew and return to quiescent state whereas the rest of activated population differentiates into mature skeletal muscle cells. Those processes are tightly regulated by a subsequent expression of myogenic regulatory factors (MRFs), by a group of skeletal muscle-specific microRNA (myomirs), as well as by a group of extracellular growth factors. Impairment of mSC function is related to both degenerative diseases of skeletal muscle (i.e. muscle dystrophies) and in chronic non-healing wounds (i.e. diabetic foot ulcer). Although it was proved, that mSC are able to improve regeneration of muscle tissue, due to low viability and differentiation after transplantation those therapeutic approach remain in experimental phase. In this review current data on differentiation of mSC and myoblasts were discussed.