The Gussoni laboratory's long-term goal is to optimize a cell-based therapy for patients with muscular dystrophy. Dr. Gussoni and colleagues are now pursuing this goal by optimizing human muscle stem cell isolation and characterization, as well as by creating new animal models for preclinical testing. They also are thoroughly comparing the transcriptome--the set of active genes--of human muscle stem cells to that of committed muscle cells using microarray technology. These studies are expected to lead to the identification of specific muscle stem cell markers that will make it easier to purify stem cells from primary tissues.
Down the road, the group seeks to identify the mechanisms by which muscle stem cells fuse to pre-existing myofibers and to optimize the injection of human muscle stem cells in immunocompromised mice with muscular dystrophy.
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