Stem cells from human fat differentiate into muscle cells and produce dystrophin (green) when injected into mice.

Stem cells from fat tissue have the potential to become muscle, bone, or fat, according to a study by Rodriguez and colleagues on page 1397. These stem cells rescued the production of the muscle protein dystrophin in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a fatal muscle wasting disease of children. The authors think that these cells may eventually be promising for treatment of children with this deadly, and thus far untreatable, disease.

DMD is caused by a lack of the cytoskeletal protein dystrophin, which provides muscle cells with structural stability. Several treatment strategies for DMD are under investigation, including gene therapy to replace the defective dystrophin gene, and stem cell transplantation to generate new dystrophin-producing muscle cells.

Previous work by this group and others revealed...

The Rockefeller University Press
2005
The Rockefeller University Press
2005
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