Abstract
Skeletal muscles belong to the musculoskeletal system, which is composed of bone, tendon, ligament and irregular connective tissue, and closely associated with motor nerves and blood vessels. The intrinsic molecular signals regulating myogenesis have been extensively investigated. However, muscle development, homeostasis and regeneration require interactions with surrounding tissues and the cellular and molecular aspects of this dialogue have not been completely elucidated. During development and adult life, myogenic cells are closely associated with the different types of connective tissue. Connective tissues are defined as specialized (bone and cartilage), dense regular (tendon and ligament) and dense irregular connective tissue. The role of connective tissue in muscle morphogenesis has been investigated, thanks to the identification of transcription factors that characterize the different types of connective tissues. Here, we review the development of the various connective tissues in the context of the musculoskeletal system and highlight their important role in delivering information necessary for correct muscle morphogenesis, from the early step of myoblast differentiation to the late stage of muscle maturation. Interactions between muscle and connective tissue are also critical in the adult during muscle regeneration, as impairment of the regenerative potential after injury or in neuromuscular diseases results in the progressive replacement of the muscle mass by fibrotic tissue. We conclude that bi-directional communication between muscle and connective tissue is critical for a correct assembly of the musculoskeletal system during development as well as to maintain its homeostasis in the adult.
Highlights
Skeletal muscle forms a highly complex and heterogeneous structure, which is part of the musculoskeletal system of the body
CXCL12 would chemoattract stem cells toward the injury site, but would increase their fusion with native muscle fibers (Griffin et al, 2010). These results demonstrate that signals provided by muscle irregular connective tissues (CTs) are crucial for muscle morphogenesis during development and mediate the processes of muscle regeneration in the adult
The identification of specific myogenic transcription factors has allowed us to decipher the importance of these intrinsic gene networks in the specification and differentiation of muscles during embryonic development
Summary
Skeletal muscle forms a highly complex and heterogeneous structure, which is part of the musculoskeletal system of the body. During embryonic development, undifferentiated mesenchymal cells, derived from mesodermal and mesectodermal (neural crest cells) origins, give rise to the different forms of CT: bones, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, and irregular CT (Wachtler et al, 1981).
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