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Muscle stem cells differentiate into haematopoietic lineages but retain myogenic potential

Nature Cell Biology volume 5, pages 640–646 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

Muscle-derived stem cells (MDSCs) can differentiate into multiple lineages, including haematopoietic lineages1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12. However, it is unknown whether MDSCs preserve their myogenic potential after differentiation into other lineages. To address this issue, we isolated from dystrophic muscle a population of MDSCs that express stem-cell markers and can differentiate into various lineages1,13. After systemic delivery of three MDSC clones into lethally irradiated mice, we found that differentiation of the donor cells into various lineages of the haematopoietic system resulted in repopulation of the recipients' bone marrow. Donor-derived bone-marrow cells, isolated from these recipients by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), also repopulated the bone marrow of secondary, lethally irradiated, recipients and differentiated into myogenic cells both in vitro and in vivo in normal mdx mice. These findings demonstrate that MDSC clones retain their myogenic potential after haematopoietic differentiation.

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Figure 1: Systemic transplantation of MDSCs.
Figure 2: Transplantation of MDSCs into lethally irradiated SJL/J mice.
Figure 3: In vitro and in vivo examination of recovered donor cells.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (PO1 AR 45925, RO1 AR 49684-01), the Muscular Dystrophy Association (USA), the Jean W. Donaldson Chair at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and the Henry J. Mankin Endowed Chair of the University of Pittsburgh. The authors wish to thank M. Pellerin, R. Pruchnic, R. Lakomy, W.A. Rudert, Y. Fan and M. Trucco for technical contributions, as well as R. Sauder for his outstanding assistance with the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Children's Hospital and University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, 15213, PA, USA

    Baohong Cao, Bo Zheng, Ron J. Jankowski, Bridget Deasy, James Cummins, Zhuqing Qu-Petersen & Johnny Huard

  2. Department of Child Development, Kumamoto University School of Medicine, 1-1-1 Honjou, Kumamoto, Japan

    Shigemi Kimura & Makoto Ikezawa

  3. Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, 15261, PA, USA

    Mike Epperly

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  1. Baohong Cao
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Correspondence to Johnny Huard.

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J. Huard receives a consultant fee from Cook Myosite

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Cao, B., Zheng, B., Jankowski, R. et al. Muscle stem cells differentiate into haematopoietic lineages but retain myogenic potential. Nat Cell Biol 5, 640–646 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb1008

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