Skeletal muscle stem cells adopt a dormant cellstate post mortem and retain regenerative capacity

摘要

The accessibility to stem cells from healthy or diseased individuals, and the maintenanceof their potency are challenging issues for stem cell biology. Here we report the isolationof viable and functional skeletal myogenic cells from humans up to 17 days, and mice up to14 days post mortem, much longer beyond previous reports. muscle stem cells are enriched inpost mortem tissue, suggesting a selective survival advantage compared with other cell types.Transplantation of mouse muscle and haematopoietic stem cells regenerates tissues robustly.Cellular quiescence contributes to this cell viability where cells adopt a reversible dormantstate characterized by reduced metabolic activity, a prolonged lag phase before the firstcell division, elevated levels of reactive oxygen species and a transcriptional status lessprimed for commitment. Finally, severe hypoxia, or anoxia is critical for maintaining stem cellviability and regenerative capacity. Thus, these cells provide a useful resource for studyingstem cell biology.