Insights into skeletal muscle development and applications in regenerative medicine.

Embryonic and postnatal development of skeletal muscle entails highly regulated processes whose complexity continues to be deconstructed. One key stage of development is the satellite cell, whose niche is composed of multiple cell types that eventually contribute to terminally differentiated myotubes. Understanding these developmental processes will ultimately facilitate treatments of myopathies such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a disease characterized by compromised cell membrane structure, resulting in severe muscle wasting. One theoretical approach is to use pluripotent stem cells in a therapeutic setting to help replace degenerated muscle tissue. This chapter discusses key myogenic developmental stages and their regulatory pathways; artificial myogenic induction in pluripotent stem cells; advantages and disadvantages of DMD animal models; and therapeutic approaches targeting DMD. Furthermore, skeletal muscle serves as an excellent paradigm for understanding general cell fate decisions throughout development.