Efficacy of neonatal mouse muscle extracellular vesicles in skeletal muscle repair and regeneration

TL;DR

This study shows that extracellular vesicles from neonatal mouse muscle can improve muscle repair and regeneration after injury.

Contribution

The study introduces neonatal mouse muscle-derived extracellular vesicles as a novel cell-free therapy for skeletal muscle injury.

Findings

NMM-EVs enhanced satellite cell activation and improved muscle regeneration in injured mice.

NMM-EVs reduced fibrosis and fat infiltration while increasing muscle mass and function.

In vitro, NMM-EVs promoted satellite cell proliferation and myogenic differentiation.

Abstract

Currently, effective treatments for skeletal muscle injury remain limited. The self-repair of skeletal muscle relies on the activation and differentiation of satellite cells (SCs), which fuse with damaged myofibers to form new fibers and thereby support muscle regeneration. However, in cases of severe injury, it is difficult for muscle tissue to fully restore its original structure and function, and its regenerative capacity is often markedly reduced. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop therapies that enhance muscle repair and restore physiological function. In this study, we investigated extracellular vesicles derived from neonatal mouse skeletal muscle (NMM-EVs), which are enriched in cargo from Pax7⁺ myogenic progenitor cells. We hypothesized that NMM-EVs could enhance SC activation and improve muscle regeneration following injury. Using glycerol-induced tibialis anterior (TA) muscle injury model, we evaluated the effects of intramuscular NMM-EV administration on skeletal muscle regeneration by histological, immunofluorescence, and functional analyses. In vivo, NMM-EVs significantly promoted skeletal muscle regeneration and functional recovery, upregulated Pax7 expression, increased the cross-sectional area and muscle mass of regenerated TA, and reduced fibrosis and fat infiltration. In vitro, NMM-EVs enhanced the proliferation and myogenic differentiation of mouse SCs and increased the expression of myogenic regulatory factors at both the mRNA and protein levels. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that NMM-EVs activate SCs within injured muscle, promote their proliferation and differentiation, and thereby accelerate injury repair and myofiber regeneration while attenuating fibrotic and adipogenic remodeling. These findings provide a scientific basis for the development of neonatal muscle–derived extracellular vesicle–based, cell-free therapeutic strategies for skeletal muscle injury.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13619-025-00274-6.

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