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FAPs linked with muscle degeneration in T2DM

Nature Reviews Endocrinology volume 18, page 3 (2022)Cite this article

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The mechanisms underlying the degeneration of human skeletal muscle in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are not well described. A study published in Cell Metabolism now shows that a specific population of fibro-adipogenic progenitors (FAPs) are associated with skeletal muscle degeneration (referred to here as fibro-fatty degeneration) in patients with T2DM.

Using this protocol, the authors identified a sub-fraction of CD90+ FAPs present in human skeletal muscle that show increased cell division and collagen production mediated by platelet-derived growth factor. Next, skeletal muscle biopsies were obtained from patients with or without T2DM, who were undergoing abdominal aneurysm or coronary bypass surgery. Importantly, CD90+ FAPs were found to have accumulated in skeletal muscle of patients with T2DM and were the only cell population in which notable changes were detected. Incubating CD90+ FAPs from patients with T2DM with metformin decreased the proliferation rate of these FAPs and inhibited adipogenesis.

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  1. Nature Reviews Endocrinology http://www.nature.com/nrendo/

    Shimona Starling

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  1. Shimona Starling
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Correspondence to Shimona Starling.

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Starling, S. FAPs linked with muscle degeneration in T2DM. Nat Rev Endocrinol 18, 3 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-021-00601-2

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