CU identifies muscle-repairing stem cell

BOULDER – A University of Colorado at Boulder research team has identified a type of skeletal muscle stem cell that contributes to the repair of damaged muscles in mice.

The discovery could have important implications in the treatment of injured, diseased or aging muscle tissue in humans, including the ravages of muscular dystrophy.

The newly identified stem cells are found within populations of satellite cells located between muscle fibers and the surrounding connective tissue that are responsible for the repair and maintenance of skeletal muscles, said professor Bradley Olwin of CU-Boulder’s molecular, cellular and developmental, or MCD, biology department.

When muscle fibers are…