A MYORES (6th FP) workshop entitled « Muscle regeneration », organised by Orna Halevy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and by Gillian Butler-Browne and Vincent Mouly, both from the Myology Institute in Paris was held in Cassis (France) from the 3rd to the 7th of May. This workshop gathered 24 students/post-docs/young researchers, together with 8 speakers who presented lectures organised in 3 sessions : muscle stem cells, muscle signalling and muscle ageing and pathologies.
In the first session, J. Beauchamp (RHUL, GB) proposed a new theory concerning self renewing, based upon asymmetric fate in response to niche rather than asymmetric division, V. Mouly (IdM, France) emphasized the differences between mouse and human progenitors based upon the mitotic clock and the stress pathways and P. Zammit (King’s, GB) revisited the various markers for progenitors and the assessment of their potential in vivo. Finally, S. Hughes (King’s GB) presented the various strategies selected by evolution in non amniotic species, and compared them to that of mammals.
During the second session, O. Halevy (Jerusalem Univ, Israel) integrated the intricate pathways involved in muscle cell behaviour, particularly concerning proliferation, while N. Rosenthal (EMBL Monterotondo, Italy) presented the most recent findings regarding the roles of the different isoforms of Igf-1.
The third session was dedicated to human muscle regeneration. It included a presentation by L-E. Thornell (Umea university, Sweden) on the various aspects of regeneration in vivo, including after exercise and during ageing, emphasizing again the differences between rodents and humans, and G.S. Butler-Browne (IdM, France) explained the molecular mechanisms involved in ageing muscle and pathologies.
Each of the 24 participants, originated in majority from research groups belonging to MYORES, presented their research projects. The aim of this workshop was to reinforce integration of young researchers working on muscle regeneration, and the animated discussion and elaboration of many collaborations showed clearly that this aim was fulfilled with success.
S. R.
