Techniques for Injury, Cell Transplantation, and Histological Analysis in Skeletal Muscle

Skeletal muscle can adjust to changes in physiological and pathological environments by regenerating using myogenic progenitor cells or adapting muscle fiber sizes and types, metabolism, and contraction ability. To study these changes, muscle samples should be appropriately prepared. Therefore, reliable techniques to accurately analyze and evaluate skeletal muscle phenotypes are required. However, although technical approaches to genetically investigating skeletal muscle are improving, the fundamental strategies for capturing muscle pathology are the same over the decades. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining or antibodies are the simplest and standard methodologies for assessing skeletal muscle phenotypes. In this chapter, we describe fundamental techniques and protocols for inducing skeletal muscle regeneration by using chemicals and cell transplantation, in addition to methods of preparing and evaluating skeletal muscle samples.