Project: Epigenetic regulation of muscle stem cell fate

About

Skeletal muscle has the unique ability to regenerate upon injury. This capacity relies on the presence of muscle stem cells (MuSCs), which are quiescent cells. In response to an injury, MuSCs activate, proliferate and undergo either commitment in the differentiation process or self-renewal to restore the pool of quiescent MuSCs. Our project aims at deciphering how MuSC fate transition is regulated, with particular focus on lysine demethylases (KDMs). Besides histone proteins, lysine methylation occurs also on other proteins, suggesting broader roles for these enzymes beyond chromatin modification. Thus, our objectives are to unveil the physiological role (at transcriptional and post-transcriptional level) of two lysine demethylases (LSD1 and PHF2) in regulating muscle stem cell fate choice, by using muscle stem cell-specific knock-out mouse models.