title: Perspectives of stem cell therapy in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
abstract: Muscular dystrophies are heritable and heterogeneous neuromuscular disorders characterized by the primary wasting of skeletal muscle, usually caused by mutations in the proteins forming the link between the cytoskeleton and the basal lamina. As a result of mutations in the dystrophin gene, Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients suffer from progressive muscle atrophy and an exhaustion of muscular regenerative capacity. No efficient therapies are available. The evidence that adult stem cells were capable of participating in the regeneration of more than their resident organ led to the development of potential stem cell treatments for degenerative disorder. In the present review, we describe the different types of myogenic stem cells and their possible use for the progression of cell therapy in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio Cellule Staminali, Dipartimento di Fisiopatologia medico-chirurgica e dei Trapianti, Università degli Studi di Milano, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Mirella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Meregalli
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Farini
authors.forename: Marzia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Belicchi
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Parolini
authors.forename: Letizia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cassinelli
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Razini
authors.forename: Clementina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sitzia
authors.forename: Yvan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Torrente
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D064987:Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy; D006801:Humans; D020388:Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy*; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism