Stem Cells Could Hold Key To Muscle Repair, Says Study

Details Published on Saturday, 26 July 2014 21:02

A study found that stem cells injected into mice helped shorten muscle repair time. Picture courtesy of Shutterstock.com NEW YORK: Research conducted on exercising mice at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign could open new doors in the field of muscle repair using stem cells.

Scientists injected stem cells prior to encouraging mice to perform exercises considered the rough equivalent of human lengthening contractions performed as part of resistance training.

They found the time of muscle repair was shortened and they achieved considerable development of the mices muscles.

We have an interest in understanding how muscle responds to exercise, and which cellular components contribute to the increase in repair and growth with exercise, says study author and University of Illinois kinesiology and community health professor Marni Boppart.

Boppart says the research is important in treating atrophy and age-related degradation in both the structure and the function of muscles.

But the primary goal of our lab really is to have some understanding of how we can rejuvenate the aged muscle to prevent the physical disability that occurs with age, and to increase quality of life in general as well, she continued.

The types of stem cells used in the experiment are called mesenchymal (mezz-EN-chem-uhl) stem cells (MSCs) and they occur naturally in the body as part of the tissue that connects organs.

Boppart and her team selected MCSs for use on the mice knowing that MSCs emit growth factors.

Their experiment indicates that MCS cells stimulate muscle progenitor cells, which have the ability to differentiate within skeletal musclewhat Boppart refers to as a very complex organ that is highly innervated and vascularized.

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Stem Cells Could Hold Key To Muscle Repair, Says Study