| Research Abstract |
IGF-1 plays an important role in the development, maintenance and regeneration of skeletal muscle. The effects of IGF-1 on myogenic cells include stimulation of myoblast replication, myogenic differentiation and myotube hypertrophy. In muscle regeneration, a proliferation of muscle precursor cells, fusion into myotubes, and reinnervation are involved. In this process, IGF-1 produced in satellite cells acts as a powerful stimulation for proliferation and differentiation of muscle precursor cells. We scrutinized the applicability and efficacy of adenovirus vector expressing human insulin-like growth factor-1 (hIGF-1) in gene transfer into cultured L6 cells and also cutting tongue muscle. Adenovirus vector-mediated hIGF-1 gene transfer showed the enhancement of myogenic differentiation and hypertrophy of L6 cells.The introduction of hIGF-1 into the cutting tongue muscle showed a significant increase in regenerating, and also an increase in the total number of myofibers, in comparison to that seen in the control muscle. These expressions demonstrate that hIGF-1 gene transfer using adenovirus vector may therefore have great potential in the treatment of neuromuscular disorders.
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