Muscle development and differentiation

Skeletal muscle is formed through the differentiation and fusion of myoblasts into a multinucleated syncytium. Advances in molecular biology techniques and the generation of transgenic mouse models have contributed to the identification of the molecular pathways involved in skeletal muscle growth and differentiation. During embryogenesis, the specification and development of the myogenic lineage is determined by the spatiotemporal expression of a family of muscle-specific transcription factors. Understanding the molecular mechanism controlling skeletal muscle development may lead to new insights into therapeutic strategies that may alleviate some of the pathological conditions associated with muscular diseases.