Animal studies
The animal experiments and all experimental protocols were approved by the Center for Laboratory Animal Medicine and Care at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (protocol No: AWC-13-134). All methods were carried out in accordance with the approved relevant guidelines and regulations. Mouse strains utilized in this study: C57BL/6J, BALB/c, SCID-beige, and mdx/SCID were purchased from the Jackson Laboratory, USA.
Cell isolation and maintenance
Mouse iMuSCs were isolated from the injured TA muscles of C57BL/6J (3–8-week-old female; Jackson Lab, USA) mice four days after laceration injury, while control MuSCs were isolated from uninjured TA muscles. The iMuSCs were separately cultured in ESGRO Complete PLUS Clonal Grade Medium (Millipore, USA) on 12-well tissue culture plates (Corning, USA) for 3 weeks. The medium was then replaced with normal muscle growth medium [Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle’s Medium (DMEM) supplemented with 20% Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS), 10% Horse Serum (HS), 1% chicken embryo extract (CEE; Accurate Chemical Co., UK), and 1% Penicillin-Streptomycin antibiotics; unless otherwise mentioned, all from Gibco, USA] and iMuSCs were further cultured and expanded on collagen type IV-coated flasks at 5% CO2 at 37 °C. C2C12 primary mouse myoblasts (purchased from ATTC, USA) and MuSCs were used as controls and were cultured on collagen type IV-coated flasks in growth medium in 5% CO2 at 37 °C. Characterization of iMuSCs was performed by applying standard in vitro and in vivo assays. |
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