Isolation of Immune Cells from Skeletal Muscles for Flow Cytometry

Inflammation is a characteristic of skeletal muscle wound healing and of many muscle diseases. Analysis and isolation of the immune cell populations infiltrating skeletal muscles and their molecular signatures allow optimal use of anti-inflammatory treatments and identification of novel therapeutic targets. Here we describe a protocol for unbiased isolation of skeletal muscle immune cells. This technique allows for downstream assessment of immune cell populations or their isolation for downstream molecular or cellular assays from individual skeletal muscles during normal wound healing or disease.