Next Article in Journal
Oxy210 Inhibits Hepatic Expression of Senescence-Associated, Pro-Fibrotic, and Pro-Inflammatory Genes in Mice During Development of MASH and in Hepatocytes In Vitro
Previous Article in Journal
Central Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1-Induced Anxiolytic and Antidepressant Effects in a Rat Model of Sporadic Alzheimer’s Disease Are Associated with the Peripheral Suppression of Inflammation
Previous Article in Special Issue
Regulation of Myogenesis by MechanomiR-200c/FoxO3 Axis
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Cells
Volume 14
Issue 15
10.3390/cells14151190
cells-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

From Development to Regeneration: Insights into Flight Muscle Adaptations from Bat Muscle Cell Lines

by
Fengyan Deng
1,
Valentina Peña
1,2,
Pedro Morales-Sosa
1,3,
Andrea Bernal-Rivera
1,4,
Bowen Yang
1,
Shengping Huang
1,
Sonia Ghosh
1,
Maria Katt
1,
Luciana Andrea Castellano
1,
Lucinda Maddera
1,
Zulin Yu
1,
Nicolas Rohner
1,5,
Chongbei Zhao
1,* and
Jasmin Camacho
1,*
1
Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA
2
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
3
Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA
4
Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
5
Institute for Integrative Cell Biology and Physiology, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Cells 2025, 14(15), 1190; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells14151190 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 2 July 2025 / Revised: 25 July 2025 / Accepted: 26 July 2025 / Published: 1 August 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Understanding Skeletal Muscle Metabolism and Regeneration: From Mechanisms to Therapeutics)
Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

Skeletal muscle regeneration depends on muscle stem cells, which give rise to myoblasts that drive muscle growth, repair, and maintenance. In bats—the only mammals capable of powered flight—these processes must also sustain contractile performance under extreme mechanical and metabolic stress. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying bat muscle physiology remain largely unknown. To enable mechanistic investigation of these traits, we established the first myoblast cell lines from the pectoralis muscle of Pteronotus mesoamericanus, a highly maneuverable aerial insectivore. Using both spontaneous immortalization and exogenous hTERT/CDK4 gene overexpression, we generated two stable cell lines that retain proliferative capacity and differentiate into contractile myotubes. These cells exhibit frequent spontaneous contractions, suggesting robust functional integrity at the neuromuscular junction. In parallel, we performed transcriptomic and metabolic profiling of native pectoralis tissue in the closely related Pteronotus parnellii to define molecular programs supporting muscle specialization. Gene expression analyses revealed enriched pathways for muscle metabolism, development, and regeneration, highlighting supporting roles in tissue maintenance and repair. Consistent with this profile, the flight muscle is triglyceride-rich, which serves as an important fuel source for energetically demanding processes, including muscle contraction and cellular recovery. Integration of transcriptomic and metabolic data identified three key metabolic modules—glucose utilization, lipid handling, and nutrient signaling—that likely coordinate ATP production and support metabolic flexibility. Together, these complementary tools and datasets provide the first in vitro platform for investigating bat muscle research, enabling direct exploration of muscle regeneration, metabolic resilience, and evolutionary physiology.
Keywords: bat; flight muscle biology; myoblast cell line; myotube; hTERT; CDK4; proliferation and differentiation; regeneration bat; flight muscle biology; myoblast cell line; myotube; hTERT; CDK4; proliferation and differentiation; regeneration

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Deng, F.; Peña, V.; Morales-Sosa, P.; Bernal-Rivera, A.; Yang, B.; Huang, S.; Ghosh, S.; Katt, M.; Castellano, L.A.; Maddera, L.; et al. From Development to Regeneration: Insights into Flight Muscle Adaptations from Bat Muscle Cell Lines. Cells 2025, 14, 1190. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells14151190

AMA Style

Deng F, Peña V, Morales-Sosa P, Bernal-Rivera A, Yang B, Huang S, Ghosh S, Katt M, Castellano LA, Maddera L, et al. From Development to Regeneration: Insights into Flight Muscle Adaptations from Bat Muscle Cell Lines. Cells. 2025; 14(15):1190. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells14151190

Chicago/Turabian Style

Deng, Fengyan, Valentina Peña, Pedro Morales-Sosa, Andrea Bernal-Rivera, Bowen Yang, Shengping Huang, Sonia Ghosh, Maria Katt, Luciana Andrea Castellano, Lucinda Maddera, and et al. 2025. "From Development to Regeneration: Insights into Flight Muscle Adaptations from Bat Muscle Cell Lines" Cells 14, no. 15: 1190. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells14151190

APA Style

Deng, F., Peña, V., Morales-Sosa, P., Bernal-Rivera, A., Yang, B., Huang, S., Ghosh, S., Katt, M., Castellano, L. A., Maddera, L., Yu, Z., Rohner, N., Zhao, C., & Camacho, J. (2025). From Development to Regeneration: Insights into Flight Muscle Adaptations from Bat Muscle Cell Lines. Cells, 14(15), 1190. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells14151190

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop