Development of a commercial protocol to differentiate human pluripotent stem cells into skeletal muscle progenitor cells (hPSC-SMPCs) with transplantation potential

Recent scientific breakthroughs have led to the development of methods to differentiate human PSCs (hPSCs) into skeletal muscle cells. This has allowed, for the first time, the development of cellular models to study muscle diseases such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and the possibility to utilize these cells for cell therapy applications. However, the reliability, efficiency and prober characterization of cells produced from these differentiation protocols remains a roadblock for their routine utilization by the research community. In this proposal we aim to develop a commercial kit to differentiate hPSCs into skeletal muscle progenitor cells (hPSC-SMPCs) with reproducibility between cell lines with various genetic backgrounds. We anticipate that such a kit will enable researchers to overcome previous roadblocks and facilitate the robust and consistent generation of large numbers of skeletal muscle cells. This new tool will allow researchers to study human skeletal muscle development, model muscle diseases, screen cells for drug discover and investigate the regenerative potential of hPSC-SMPCs in preclinical cell therapy applications.

Faculty Supervisor:

Fabio Rossi

Student:

Nasim Kajabadi

Partner:

StemCell Technologies

Discipline:

Medicine

Sector:

Life sciences

University:

Program: