CD90 delineates distinct muscle stem cell states of quiescence and activation
Abstract Stem cell transition from quiescence to activation is crucial to guarantee productive tissue regeneration. Here, we show that CD90 expression diversifies quiescent muscle stem cells (MuSCs) in murine and human muscle into two subsets differing in the kinetics of activation. CD90+ve MuSCs exhibit a faster exit from quiescence and predominate the initial phases of regeneration compared to CD90-ve MuSCs. In the absence of injury, the CD90+ve fraction is primed towards activation through an active CD90-AMPK axis but is maintained in quiescence through signals from the extracellular matrix. We further show that Collagen VI, which is preferentially expressed by CD90+ve MuSCs, binds to the Calcitonin receptor. Moreover, while the number of CD90+ve and CD90-ve MuSCs is similar in healthy muscles, the CD90-ve fraction predominates in muscles of murine models of Duchenne and Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophies. These findings provide novel insights into the mechanistic determinants of MuSCs functional heterogeneity and have implications for understanding the stimulation of repair in dystrophic muscle.
Authors
- Yvan Torrente (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2705-3984)
- Stefano Biressi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8631-3419)
- Samuele Metti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1215-0551)
- Francesca Murganti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4807-1855)
- Lorenzo Marramiero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-5420-9814)
- Jakob Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7627-7132)
- Mayank Verma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0167-0842)
- Michela Libergoli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4329-3221)
- Eyemen Kheir (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5646-8751)
- Lorenzo Giordani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3417-2965)
- Jean Farup (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7579-6512)
- Jonas Jensen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2860-1708)
- M. Belicchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7916-2325)
- Kristian Vissing (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5810-5241)
- Paolo Bonaldo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9571-8140)
- Serena Di Savino
- Niels Jessen
- Chiara Villa
Institutions
- University of Padua (IT)
- University of Milan (IT)
- University of Trento (IT)
- Aarhus University (DK)
- Aarhus University Hospital (DK)
- Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico (IT)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- Dulbecco Telethon Institute (IT)
- Centre de Recherche en Myologie (FR)
- Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus (DK)
- The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- EMBO Reports
- Published
- 2026-11-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s44319-026-00980-5
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Muscle Physiology and Disorders
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.70