“In Vitro” Potentialities of Myogenic Cells Isolated from Adult Urodele Muscles

Abstract

When urodele limbs regenerate, it was formerly accepted that cells of regenerates resulted from the dedifferentiation of stump tissues, where multinucleated myofibres might break into mononucleated cells which proliferate and fuse anew. Another interpretation arose since Mauro (J. Biophys. Biochem. Cytol., 9:493–495, 1961) pointed out the existence of myogenic stem cells so-called “satellite-cells”. Such cells are present in urodele muscles and it is tempting to image that they are involved in limb regeneration. Careful study of the myogenic potentialities of Urodele statellite cells requires in vitro cultures separately from myotubes. These urodele myogenic cells have never been isolated and cultured in vitro. We describe here a method of primary and secondary cultures of mononucleated cells after isolation from muscle fibres.