Review
Satellite cell therapy – from mice to men
1 GlaxoSmithKline, 5 Moore Drive, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC, 27709, USA
2 Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Box 3003, DUMC, Room 3502 Busse, Building, Blue Zone, Duke South, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
Skeletal Muscle 2013, 3:2 doi:10.1186/2044-5040-3-2
Published: 31 January 2013Abstract
Satellite cells are rare mononuclear skeletal muscle-resident cells that are the chief contributors to regenerative myogenesis following muscle injury. Although first identified more than 50 years ago, it is only recently that the murine satellite cell has become molecularly defined with the ability to prospectively isolate these cells from their niche. Human satellite cells are considerably less well understood with relatively few studies having been performed on them. In this review, a critical evaluation of this literature is provided along with a discussion of the practical and methodological issues involved with research on human satellite cells. The therapeutic potential of these and other cells types is also discussed, and the various challenges that face satellite cell therapy are addressed.
