Multimodal Comparative Study of Matched Human iPSC and Biopsy-Derived Muscle Progenitor Cells for Regenerative Therapies

Skeletal muscle is an abundant tissue in the human body that can be functionally compromised due to trauma or a range of genetic, metabolic and neuromuscular diseases. Functional human skeletal muscle progenitor cells (myoblasts) can be derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC). This project will establish a high-content cell phenotyping platform combining morphological, cell marker staining and activation of cell signaling pathways to compare the phenotype of hiPSC-derived myoblasts with myoblasts isolated from donor skeletal muscle. The project will generate valuable new information regarding use of hiPSC-derived myoblasts for disease modelling, testing new therapeutics and developing regenerative medicines.