Purification of Myogenic Progenitors from Human Muscle Using Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting (FACS).

Primary myoblasts derived from human tissue are a valuable tool in research of muscle disease and pathophysiology. However, skeletal muscle biopsies, especially from diseased muscle, contain a plethora of non-myogenic cells, necessitating purification of the myogenic cell population. This protocol describes techniques for dissociation of cells from human skeletal muscle biopsies and enrichment for a highly myogenic population by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). We also describe methods for assessing myogenicity and population expansion for subsequent in vitro study.