Ageing, senescence and the behaviour of human muscle stem cells
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A pilot study investigating the effects of ageing and senescence in human muscle stem cells
IRAS ID
201412
Contact name
Stephen Harridge
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 0 months, 3 days
Research summary
A prominent feature of old age is the loss of skeletal muscle mass (sarcopenia) which seems to be offset by regular exercise. Thus there is a continuum of muscle quality in old age from the very frail, the sedentary, through to the regularly and highly active (Pollock, 2015). The sarcopenic phenotype is thought to be related, in part, to impaired muscle repair following damage which is under the control of its stem cells (satellite cells). Understanding how this cell population changes with age could lead to treatments for sarcopenia.
Cellular senescence is known to be involved with ageing. In mice the removal of senescent cells increases their healthy lifespan and reduces incidence of age associated diseases (Baker, 2016). Senescent cells have a distinct phenotype known as the Senescence Associated Secretory Phenotype (SASP) which affects other cells within the tissue (Tchkonia, 2013). The identification, characterisation and impact of senescent cells in human muscle is in its infancy but could lead to important discoveries about muscular ageing.
Additionally, recent studies suggest that cells from young and old donors behave similarly in culture questioning any intrinsic ageing affects (Alsharidah, 2013). However, these primary cell culture experiments were limited by that fact that the cell populations studied comprised a mixture of satellite cell-derived myoblasts and connective tissue fibroblasts. Recently however, we have developed a sorting technique (Agley, 2015) that can isolate the myoblasts from the fibroblasts allowing the individual cell types to be studied and their behaviour better understood.
We aim to study the ageing satellite cell population from young (18-35 years) and older people, differing in activity level, (75+ years) to determine the role of senescence in the ageing muscle. We will profile muscle-derived cells (myoblasts and fibroblasts) in cell culture experiments to identify any differences in cell behaviour due to age and/or activity pattern.REC name
London - Harrow Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/LO/1707
Date of REC Opinion
11 Nov 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion