Résumé :
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Skeletal muscle development, growth and regeneration rely on muscle stem cells. An important goal is to understand the nature of the signals regulating these muscle stem cells during myogenesis. The signals regulating the pool of muscle progenitors during embryonic, foetal and peri-natal myogenesis have not been clearly identified. Fgf (Fibroblast growth factor) signalling is a signalling pathway able to be involved in muscle growth. One of the Fgf ligand, Fgf4 is expressed specifically at the tips of foetal muscle fibres and Fgf signalling components are enhanced at the boundaries between muscle and tendon during foetal myogenesis. We have recently designed a new technique to stably misexpress gene function in chick differentiated muscle cells. Fgf4 ligand and Fgf signalling components are currently being modified in muscle fibres and the consequences are analysed on foetal muscle progenitors. We are also analysing the foetal and adult muscle phenotype in HSA/Cre; Fgf4fl/fl mutant mice, in which Fgf4 expression is specifically ablated in differentiated muscle cells.
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