Muscle stem cell-niche interactions predicted in silico

Skeletal muscle, an essential organ system making up 30-40% of total body mass, is unique in that it allows for the body’s
voluntary movement. It is solicited and stressed daily and consequently possesses the remarkable ability to regenerate in
response to injury due to a special population of cells named muscle stem cells (MuSCS). At rest, MuSCs are found in a sleep
state called quiescence, which has been notoriously challenging to study due to the high risk of waking i.e., activating them with
current techniques. Our group thus developed a cell culture system that can induce this sleep state in MuSCs in a laboratory
setting. With this as a tool, our goal now is to identify, and then test, computer predicted communications between MuSCs and
other cell types during this sleep state to better understand which signals regulate it and how they become dysfunctional in cases
of diseases such as aging.

Faculty Supervisor:

Penney Gilbert

Student:

Partner:

Université de Lyon (Lyon, France)

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Biotechnology; Health and Related Sciences & Technology

University:

University of Toronto

Program: