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Updated: Jul 30, 2026
Adult and Embryonic Skeletal Muscle Microexplant Culture and Isolation of Skeletal Muscle Stem Cells
Published on: September 21, 2010
MyoD-positive myoblasts are present in mature fetal organs lacking skeletal muscle
1Department of Anatomy, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19131, USA.
Insights
Skeletal muscle precursors expressing MyoD and G8 were found in various fetal chicken organs. These cells, distinct from stem cells, can differentiate into skeletal muscle in culture.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Cell Biology
- Muscle Development
Background:
- Gastrulation establishes three germ layers: ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm.
- MyoD-positive cells in the epiblast suggest skeletal muscle precursors can enter all germ layers.
- Previous research indicated widespread MyoD expression in the epiblast.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the presence and differentiation potential of myogenic cells in various fetal chicken organs.
- To identify the origin of skeletal muscle formation in culture from specific cell populations.
Main Methods:
- Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) to detect MyoD expression.
- In situ hybridization to visualize MyoD-positive cells within organs.
- Cell culture and differentiation assays.
- Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) for cell purification.
- Immunolabeling using the G8 antibody.
Main Results:
- MyoD-positive cells were detected in the brain, lung, intestine, kidney, spleen, heart, and liver of chicken fetuses.
- Dissociated cells from these organs differentiated into skeletal muscle in culture.
- Muscle formation in vitro primarily originated from cells expressing both MyoD and G8 in vivo.
- Purified G8-positive cells from the intestine showed high differentiation rates.
Conclusions:
- Ectopically located myogenic cells, expressing MyoD and G8, are present in multiple fetal chicken organs.
- These cells represent a distinct population resembling quiescent skeletal myoblasts.
- They possess the capacity to differentiate into skeletal muscle when provided with a permissive environment.
Abstract:
The epiblast of the chick embryo gives rise to the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm during gastrulation. Previous studies revealed that MyoD-positive cells were present throughout the epiblast, suggesting that skeletal muscle precursors would become incorporated into all three germ layers. The focus of the present study was to examine a variety of organs from the chicken fetus for the presence of myogenic cells. RT-PCR and in situ hybridizations demonstrated that MyoD-positive cells were present in the brain, lung, intestine, kidney, spleen, heart, and liver. When these organs were dissociated and placed in culture, a subpopulation of cells differentiated into skeletal muscle. The G8 antibody was used to label those cells that expressed MyoD in vivo and to follow their fate in vitro. Most, if not all, of the muscle that formed in culture arose from cells that expressed MyoD and G8 in vivo. Practically all of the G8-positive cells from the intestine differentiated after purification by FACS. This population of ectopically located cells appears to be distinct from multipotential stem cells and myofibroblasts. They closely resemble quiescent, stably programmed skeletal myoblasts with the capacity to differentiate when placed in a permissive environment.
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