FIG. 1.

Overview of experimental design. The goal of this study was to determine the ability of mechanical stimulation in the presence of ECM degradation products to promote skeletal muscle remodeling. The following questions were posed: (A) how does mechanical loading affect macrophage phentoype in the presence of an ECM bioscaffold and how is the macrophage secretome altered in the context of promoting myoblast chemotaxis, proliferation, and differentiation? (B) How does mechanical loading affect myoblast differentiation in the presence of an ECM bioscaffold and how does the myoblast/myotube secretome change in the context of promoting a change in activation in macrophages? (C) What is the effect of absence of mechanical loading upon the ECM-mediated skeletal muscle repair microenvironment? ECM, extracellular matrix.