FIGURE 2.

Loss of dystrophin compromises efficient muscle regeneration. In healthy muscle (left), regenerative myogenesis is initiated by activated satellite cells that undergo symmetric cell division to maintain the muscle stem cell pool, as well as asymmetric cell division to give rise to myogenic progenitor cells that expand and contribute to efficient muscle repair and regeneration. In the context of DMD (right), the loss of dystrophin in activated satellite cells results in impaired cell polarity cues, leading to mitotic defects and reduced asymmetric cell divisions. Consequently, the balance favors symmetric stem cell expansion, resulting in satellite cell hyperplasia, and greatly reduced asymmetric cell divisions and myogenic progenitor cell numbers. This impairs muscle regeneration, leading to progressive muscle degeneration and wasting. Created with BioRender.com.