Jennifer Morgan

Research interests

My research programme is concerned with the study of the biology of skeletal muscle. The major areas of research are focused towards the identification of progenitor cell types that contribute to skeletal muscle regeneration, and the genetic and functional manipulation of these cell populations to enhance muscle repair. Another prominent line of investigation is the assessment of the potential role of muscle progenitor cells in skeletal muscle regenerative medicine and in the treatment of muscular dystrophies.

The principal muscle stem cell is the satellite cell, found under the basal lamina of skeletal muscle fibres. Viable isolated mouse muscle fibres, bearing satellite cells, have provided a novel way to explore the self-renewal and muscle regenerative potential of satellite cells in vitro and in vivo. We have developed in vitro models of satellite cell activation, proliferation and differentiation and in vivo transplantation models with which to examine the contribution of both murine and human donor cells to skeletal muscle formation.

Our recent work provided clear evidence that a sub-population of satellite cells are functional stem cells, giving rise both to skeletal muscle and reconstituting the satellite cell population. These satellite cells of donor origin are functional, as they are able to contribute to new regenerated skeletal muscle fibres following injury. Although satellite cells are lost with age, the sub-population of “stem” satellite cells is retained and remains fully functional when transplanted into a young muscle environment. .

We are now exploring ways of identifying and isolating the “stem” satellite cells and other stem cell populations that contribute efficiently to skeletal muscle regeneration. Such cells may be genetically manipulated in vitro to express therapeutic genes, e.g. constructs designed to skip mutated exons in the dystrophin gene.

I am a member of the DOH-funded MDEX consortium and am involved in the analysis of dystrophin exon skipping and dystrophin protein production in patient-derived cells and in muscles of patients treated with AO in the clinical trial.

Recent Publications

1. Boldrin L, Zammit P, Muntoni F, Morgan J (2009). The Mature Adult Dystrophic Mouse Muscle Environment Does Not Impede Efficient Engrafted Satellite Cell Regeneration And Self-Renewal. Stem Cells 27:2478-2487 

2. Kinali M, Arechavala-Gomeza V, Feng L, Cirak S, Hunt D, Adkin C, Guglieri M, Ashton E, Abbs S, Nihoyannopoulos P, Garralda ME, Rutherford M, McCulley C, Popplewell L, Graham IR, Dickson G, Wood MJ, Wells DJ, Wilton SD, Kole R, Straub V, Bushby K, Sewry C, Morgan JE, Muntoni F (2009). Local restoration of dystrophin expression with the morpholino oligomer AVI-4658 in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: a single-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation, proof-of-concept study. Lancet Neurol. 2009 Oct;8(10):918-28. Epub 2009 Aug 25 

3. Collins CA, Zammit PS, Ruiz AP, Morgan JE, Partridge TA (2007) A population of myogenic stem cells that survives skeletal muscle aging. Stem Cells 25:885-94

Contact details

Reader in Cell Biology
1st Floor, Dubowitz Neuromuscular Unit
UCL Institute of Child Health
30 Guilford Street
London WC1N 1EH
Tel: +44 (0)20 7905 2874, Fax: +44 (0)20 7905 2832
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it