Preparation of Adult Mouse Muscle Stem Cells

Abstract

Muscle stem cells are adult stem cells responsible for muscle development, growth and regeneration. Current knowledge suggests those cells are heterogeneous population shared their position between the sarcolemma and basal lamina of muscle fibers. This protocol describes the technique to dissociate and collect the stem cells from skeletal muscle of adult mice, and separate them from other cells found in muscle (e.g. fat, connective tissue). To purify and preserve those myofiber associated muscle stem cells, we use two steps of enzyme digestion followed by cell pre-plating procedures.