Skeletal muscles are essential for vital functions such as movement, postural support,
breathing, and thermogenesis. Muscle tissue is largely composed of long, postmitotic …

Dystrophin is a long rod-shaped protein that connects the subsarcolemmal cytoskeleton to a
complex of proteins in the surface membrane (dystrophin protein complex, DPC), with further …

Dystrophin is expressed in differentiated myofibers, in which it is required for sarcolemmal
integrity, and loss-of-function mutations in the gene that encodes it result in Duchenne …

Extracellular matrix (ECM) is an essential component of skeletal muscle. It provides a
framework structure that holds myofibers and blood capillaries and nerves supplying the …

Skeletal muscle mass, function, and repair capacity all progressively decline with aging,
restricting mobility, voluntary function, and quality of life. Skeletal muscle repair is facilitated …

Myofibroblasts, and the extracellular matrix (ECM) in which they reside, are critical
components of wound healing and fibrosis. The ECM, traditionally viewed as the structural …

Despite substantial clinical advances over the past 65 years, cardiovascular disease
remains the leading cause of death in America. The past 15 years has witnessed major …

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are broadly distributed cells that retain postnatal capacity
for self-renewal and multilineage differentiation. MSCs evade immune detection, secrete an …

Striated muscle is a highly plastic and regenerative organ that regulates body movement,
temperature, and metabolism—all the functions needed for an individual's health and well …

Skeletal muscle mass is subject to rapid changes according to growth stimuli inducing both
hypertrophy, through increased protein synthesis, and hyperplasia, activating the myogenic …