The lateral plate mesoderm: a novel source of skeletal muscle

It has been established in the last century that the skeletal muscle cells of vertebrates originate from the paraxial mesoderm. However, recently the lateral plate mesoderm has been identified as a novel source of the skeletal muscle. The branchiomeric muscles, such as masticatory and facial muscles, receive muscle progenitor cells from both the cranial paraxial mesoderm and lateral plate mesoderm. At the occipital level, the lateral plate mesoderm is the sole source of the muscle progenitors of the dorsolateral neck muscle, such as trapezius and sternocleidomastoideus in mammals and cucullaris in birds. The lateral plate mesoderm requires a longer time for generating skeletal muscle cells than the somites. The myogenesis of the lateral plate is determined early, but not cell autonomously and requires local signals. Lateral plate myogenesis is regulated by mechanisms controlling the cranial myogenesis. The connective tissue of the lateral plate-derived muscle is formed by the cranial neural crest. Although the cranial neural crest cells do not control the early myogenesis, they regulate the patterning of the branchiomeric muscles and the cucullaris muscle. Although satellite cells derived from the cranial lateral plate show distinct properties from those of the trunk, they can respond to local signals and generate myofibers for injured muscles in the limbs. In this review, we key feature in detail the muscle forming properties of the lateral plate mesoderm and propose models of how the myogenic fate may have arisen.