Regeneration of Muscle

Muscle regeneration is the process by which damaged skeletal, smooth or cardiac muscle undergoes biological repair and formation of new muscle in response to death (necrosis) of muscle cells. The success of the regenerative process depends upon the extent of the initial damage and many intrinsic and environmental factors. Key cellular events required for regeneration include inflammation, revascularisation and innervation, in addition to myogenesis where new muscle is formed. In mammals, new muscle formation is generally excellent for skeletal muscle but poor for cardiac muscle; however a greater capacity for regeneration of cardiac muscle is seen in fish and some anurans. These aspects of regeneration are discussed with respect to myogenic stem cells, molecular regulation, ageing and implications for human therapies, with a strong focus on skeletal muscle. Other situations of muscle damage and restoration that do not involve necrosis (e.g. sarcomere disruption and atrophy) are here not considered as regeneration.