We all know about the muscles that help us to move, sit and stand - and how important they are. But what about the muscles we can't see, working behind the scenes? These muscles - smooth muscles - are found in the walls of hollow organs like blood vessels and the digestive tract. Their movements and contractions keep the body functioning, without us even realising.
For the first time, scientists have discovered where these smooth muscle cells come from. EuroStemCell research fellow Milan Esner, from the Pasteur Institute in Paris, collaborating with the Stem Cell Research Institute in Milan, show that two different kinds of muscle in the body have a common origin in the embryo.
The skeletal muscles - those that we use for movement and posture control - are formed during embryonic development from segmented structures called somites. From these structures, satellite cells are also formed. These are the stem cells that allow muscle growth and repair after birth.
EuroStemCell researchers have now demonstrated the link between smooth and skeletal muscle. Using a unique technique to trace the descendants of a single cell in the mouse embryo, they show that the smooth muscle of the main blood vessel in the embryo, the dorsal aorta, also develops from the somites. They have extended their findings with genetic markers, to show the common stem cell ancestor.
The dorsal aorta can give rise to stem cells called mesoangioblasts, first discovered by EuroStemcell scientist Giulio Cossu. These stem cells can contribute to skeletal muscle repair. The new research suggests a link between smooth muscle cells and mesoangioblasts.
Margaret Buckingham, leading the EuroStemCell research team, says:
"these findings show for the first time that smooth muscle can come from the same stem cell as skeletal muscle. The possible link to the mesoangioblast - a stem cell that can be cultured in the laboratory - is an exciting avenue for further investigation."
The research is published in Development this week.
Milan Esner, Sigolène M. Meilhac, Frédéric Relaix, Jean-François Nicolas, Giulio Cossu and Margaret E. Buckingham, Development 133, 737-749 (2006) (subscription required to view full text)
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