The hidden cost of somatic mutations on skeletal muscle regeneration

Abstract

Vrtačnik et al. examined the contribution of accumulating somatic mutations to the decline in skeletal muscle function. They developed the ‘Muscle Somatic Mutator’ mouse model through targeted deletion of Msh2 and Blm, two important genes that are involved in DNA repair. They demonstrate that somatic mutations alone are sufficient to impair muscle strength and regeneration.