Muscle Repair Possible For Those With Progressive Muscle Disorder

Next generation DNA sequencing techniques have helped a team of scientists from Berlin learn more about the function of muscle stem cells. The study was based off of kids who had progressive muscle disease. This disease cause the muscles to weaken over time. The kids wheel chair bound, need ventilation machines because there lungs are not strong enough to breathe on their own, and a tube down their throat because their esophagus cannot swallow food. Using advanced sequencing techniques the scientist found a faulty MEFG10 protein in a European family. Further testing found that the same faulty protein was found in other kids with the disease from Asia. MEFG10 plays a vital role in the regeneration of muscle damaged tissue. Satellite cells which usual remain dormant on the outside of muscles activate when the muscle is damaged and begin to divide in order to repair the muscle MEFG10 acts the glue that holds these satellite cells to the outside. With the sequenced DNA scientists may be able to create gene therapy for the inflicted at an affordable price