About this Research Topic
Detailing the nature and structure of the stem cell niche including interaction-networks is crucial to understand muscle homeostasis in health and diseased condition. With the advent of large-scale single cell technologies and multimodal omics, we are no longer limited to study single populations or specific nodes of the network. We can now fully harness the potential of these approaches to identify, characterize and monitor the coordinated response at the whole tissue level with single cell resolution.
The purpose of this research topic is to collect present research and methodological advances on the role of the microenvironment and cellular crosstalk in healthy and diseased muscle. We will particularly focus on the potential of emerging single cell technologies to fully characterize these interactions at the whole-tissue level. This collection welcomes Original Research, Review, Mini Review, and Perspectives Articles.
Areas of interest could include, but are not limited to:
• Cellular Crosstalk in healthy and disease muscle
• Single-cell and lineage analysis during homeostasis and regeneration
• Molecular and epigenetic mechanisms of muscle regeneration
• Multi-omics studies (combined RNA/DNA/proteins approach)
• “Spatial” Approaches to study local cell crosstalk (Imaging Mass Cytometry – Spatial Transcriptomics)
• Bioinformatic approaches to model cell-to-cell interaction
• In vitro “artificial muscle systems”
Please Note: Descriptive studies (e.g. gene expression profiles, or transcript, protein, or metabolite levels under particular conditions or in a particular cell type) and studies consisting solely of bioinformatic investigation of publicly available genomic / transcriptomic data do not fall within the scope of the journal unless they are expanded and provide significant biological or mechanistic insight into the process being studied.
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.