Graduate Student Seminar Series – Maya De Cruz

Graduate Student Seminar Series
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Location: HS610 – 155 College St, Room 610
Presentation Title: Exploration of muscle stem cell pool size regulators in the mini-IDLE biomimetic culture assay
Abstract: Skeletal muscle regeneration is driven by muscle stem cells (MuSCs) which reside between myofibers and the surrounding basal lamina. In homeostatic tissue, quiescent MuSCs constantly communicate with their niche and are characterized by long cytoplasmic projections, lowered metabolic activity, and RNA content. MuSCs activate upon injury to generate progeny for myofiber creation or repair, while a subpopulation undergoes self-renewal to repopulate the MuSC niches. A niche occupancy plateau point exists in vivo, however the regulators of MuSC pool size are not clearly understood. To fill this gap, we leveraged advances in skeletal muscle tissue engineering to deliver a new strategy to evaluate MuSC niche repopulation in a dish. In this study, we aim to characterize the cell cycle status and fates of MuSCs in 3D bioartificial tissue using the mini-IDLE (Inactivation and Dormancy LEveraged in vitro) culture assay to expand knowledge of MuSC pool size regulators. Specifically, MuSCs were engrafted onto a thin sheet of mouse myotubes which provided the required cues to turn off molecular hallmarks of activation and sustain quiescence. First, we quantified the population of cycling cells at days 1, 3 and 7 post-engraftment via Ki-67 expression and EdU pulse labelling to understand changes in MuSC proliferation. Second, we assessed fluctuations in pool size following an exogenous increase of FGF2 in the system. Thus, our results suggest that the mini-IDLE culture assay affords the interrogation of niche occupancy limits on the number of transplanted MuSCs that successfully incorporate into recipient muscle tissue.
Supervisor Name: Penney Gilbert
Year of Study: 2
Program of Study: MASc
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