Generation of Highly Pure Pluripotent Stem Cell-derived Myogenic Progenitor Cells and Myotubes
Overview
Authors
Affiliations
Driving efficient and pure skeletal muscle cell differentiation from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) has been challenging. Here, we report an optimized protocol that generates skeletal muscle progenitor cells with high efficiency and purity in a short period of time. Human induced PSCs (hiPSCs) and murine embryonic stem cells (mESCs) were specified into the mesodermal myogenic fate using distinct and species-specific protocols. We used a specific maturation medium to promote the terminal differentiation of both human and mouse myoblast populations, and generated myotubes associated with a large pool of cell-cycle arrested PAX7 cells. We also show that myotube maturation is modulated by dish-coating properties, cell density, and percentage of myogenic progenitor cells. Given the high efficiency in the generation of myogenic progenitors and differentiated myofibers, this protocol provides an attractive strategy for tissue engineering, modeling of muscle dystrophies, and evaluation of new therapeutic approaches in vitro.
Multitasking muscle: engineering iPSC-derived myogenic progenitors to do more.
Hamer M, Rossi F Front Cell Dev Biol. 2025; 12:1526635.
PMID: 39911186 PMC: 11794491. DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2024.1526635.