Abstract

Satellite cells support adult skeletal muscle fiber adaptations to loading in numerous ways. The fusion of satellite cells, driven by cell-autonomous and/or extrinsic factors, contributes new myonuclei to muscle fibers, associates with load-induced hypertrophy, and may support focal membrane damage repair and long-term myonuclear transcriptional output. Recent studies have also revealed that satellite cells communicate within their niche to mediate muscle remodeling in response to resistance exercise, regulating the activity of numerous cell types through various mechanisms such as secretory signaling and cell–cell contact. Muscular adaptation to resistance and endurance activity can be initiated and sustained for a period of time in the absence of satellite cells, but satellite cell participation is ultimately required to achieve full adaptive potential, be it growth, function, or proprioceptive coordination. While significant progress has been made in understanding the roles of satellite cells in adult muscle over the last few decades, many conclusions have been extrapolated from regeneration studies. This review highlights our current understanding of satellite cell behavior and contributions to adaptation outside of regeneration in adult muscle, as well as the roles of satellite cells beyond fusion and myonuclear accretion, which are gaining broader recognition.

Document Type

Review

Publication Date

9-4-2021

Notes/Citation Information

Published in The FASEB Journal, v. 35, issue 10, e21893.

© 2021 The Authors

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.202101096R

Funding Information

This work was supported by NIH grants from the National Institutes of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (AR060701 to CAP and JJM, AR071753 to KAM) and National Institute on Aging (AG049086 to CAP and JJM and AG063994 to KAM).

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