Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Dec 15;136(24):jcs261200.
doi: 10.1242/jcs.261200. Epub 2023 Dec 27.

The muscle stem cell niche at a glance

Margaret Hung  1   2   3 , Hsiao-Fan Lo  1   2 , Grace E L Jones  1   2   3 , Robert S Krauss  1   2   3
Affiliations

The muscle stem cell niche at a glance

Margaret Hung et al. J Cell Sci. .

Abstract

Skeletal muscle stem cells (MuSCs, also called satellite cells) are the source of the robust regenerative capability of this tissue. The hallmark property of MuSCs at homeostasis is quiescence, a reversible state of cell cycle arrest required for long-term preservation of the stem cell population. MuSCs reside between an individual myofiber and an enwrapping basal lamina, defining the immediate MuSC niche. Additional cell types outside the basal lamina, in the interstitial space, also contribute to niche function. Quiescence is actively maintained by multiple niche-derived signals, including adhesion molecules presented from the myofiber surface and basal lamina, as well as soluble signaling factors produced by myofibers and interstitial cell types. In this Cell Science at a Glance article and accompanying poster, we present the most recent information on how niche signals promote MuSC quiescence and provide perspectives for further research.

Keywords: Cell adhesion; Cell signaling; Muscle; Muscle stem cell; Quiescence; Stem cell niche.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests The authors declare no competing or financial interests.

Figures

None
See Supplementary information for a high-resolution version of the poster.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Abou-Khalil, R., Le Grand, F., Pallafacchina, G., Valable, S., Authier, F. J., Rudnicki, M. A., Gherardi, R. K., Germain, S., Chretien, F., Sotiropoulos, A.et al. (2009). Autocrine and paracrine angiopoietin 1/Tie-2 signaling promotes muscle satellite cell self-renewal. Cell Stem Cell 4, 298-309. 10.1016/j.stem.2009.06.001 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Almada, A. E., Horwitz, N., Price, F. D., Gonzalez, A. E., Ko, M., Bolukbasi, O. V., Messemer, K. A., Chen, S., Sinha, M., Rubin, L. L.et al. (2021). FOS licenses early events in stem cell activation driving skeletal muscle regeneration. Cell Rep. 34, 108656. 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108656 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ancel, S., Stuelsatz, P. and Feige, J. N. (2021). Muscle stem cell quiescence: controlling stemness by staying asleep. Trends Cell Biol. 31, 556-568. 10.1016/j.tcb.2021.02.006 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Baghdadi, M. B., Castel, D., Machado, L., Fukada, S., Birk, D. E., Relaix, F., Tajbakhsh, S. and Mourikis, P. (2018a). Reciprocal signalling by Notch–Collagen V–CALCR retains muscle stem cells in their niche. Nature 557, 714-718. 10.1038/s41586-018-0144-9 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Baghdadi, M. B., Firmino, J., Soni, K., Evano, B., Di Girolamo, D., Mourikis, P., Castel, D. and Tajbakhsh, S. (2018b). Notch-induced miR-708 antagonizes satellite cell migration and maintains quiescence. Cell Stem Cell 23, 859-868.e5. 10.1016/j.stem.2018.09.017 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources