Research Center for Stem Cell Engineering, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Central 4, 1-1-4 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8562, Japan ; Health and Sport Sciences, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8577, Japan.
Stem Cells Int. 2013;2013:420164. doi: 10.1155/2013/420164. Epub 2013 Jun 2.
Adult stem cells play an essential role in mammalian organ maintenance and repair throughout adulthood since they ensure that organs retain their ability to regenerate. The choice of cell fate by adult stem cells for cellular proliferation, self-renewal, and differentiation into multiple lineages is critically important for the homeostasis and biological function of individual organs. Responses of stem cells to stress, injury, or environmental change are precisely regulated by intercellular and intracellular signaling networks, and these molecular events cooperatively define the ability of stem cell throughout life. Skeletal muscle tissue represents an abundant, accessible, and replenishable source of adult stem cells. Skeletal muscle contains myogenic satellite cells and muscle-derived stem cells that retain multipotent differentiation abilities. These stem cell populations have the capacity for long-term proliferation and high self-renewal. The molecular mechanisms associated with deficits in skeletal muscle and stem cell function have been extensively studied. Muscle-derived stem cells are an obvious, readily available cell resource that offers promise for cell-based therapy and various applications in the field of tissue engineering. This review describes the strategies commonly used to identify and functionally characterize adult stem cells, focusing especially on satellite cells, and discusses their potential applications.
成体干细胞在哺乳动物成年期的器官维持和修复中起着至关重要的作用，因为它们确保器官保持再生能力。成体干细胞选择细胞增殖、自我更新和分化为多个谱系的细胞命运，对于单个器官的内稳态和生物学功能至关重要。干细胞对压力、损伤或环境变化的反应受到细胞间和细胞内信号网络的精确调节，这些分子事件共同定义了干细胞在整个生命周期中的能力。骨骼肌组织代表了丰富、可及和可再生的成体干细胞来源。骨骼肌包含具有多能分化能力的成肌卫星细胞和肌源性干细胞。这些干细胞群体具有长期增殖和高自我更新的能力。与骨骼肌和干细胞功能缺陷相关的分子机制已得到广泛研究。肌源性干细胞是一种明显的、易于获得的细胞资源，为基于细胞的治疗和组织工程领域的各种应用提供了希望。本综述描述了常用于鉴定和功能表征成体干细胞的策略，特别关注卫星细胞，并讨论了它们的潜在应用。
