title: Long-term persistence and migration of myogenic cells injected into pre-irradiated muscles of mdx mice.
abstract: Experiments were conducted to study the fate(s) of normal muscle precursor cells (mpc) which had been injected into the muscles of mdx mice. Right legs of mdx nu/nu mice were X-irradiated (18 Gray), to inhibit the proliferation of host mpc. Normal mpc were injected into the tibialis anterior (TA) muscles of these legs and the non-irradiated, contralateral legs. In pre-irradiated legs injected with normal mpc, the number of dystrophin-positive fibres was similar at 35, 49 and at 250 days after injection, but the number of dystrophin-negative fibres was much less at the latter time point, indicating prolonged survival of dystrophin-positive muscle fibres. Non-injected muscles neighbouring the injected TA muscle rarely contained muscle of donor origin 49 days after injection, but frequently did so 250 days after injection. This indicates that some of the injected mpc must have retained the ability to proliferate, to migrate into a neighbouring muscle and to differentiate into new muscle for a considerable period after the original cell implant. In non-irradiated legs, the implanted normal mpc formed markedly fewer dystrophin-positive fibres than in the contralateral, irradiated muscle, and undertook little or no migration to adjacent muscles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Histopathology, Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, London, UK.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.forename: C N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Pagel
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sherratt
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Partridge
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement; D016189:Dystrophin / Q000378:metabolism; D006614:Hindlimb; D007158:Immunologic Techniques; D007267:Injections; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains / Q000502:physiology*; D009132:Muscles / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D016189:Dystrophin