Lab-grown canine muscle cells offer solution for early therapeutic testing

Before testing new therapies in animals, researchers now have a more efficient starting point — lab-grown canine muscle cells that can help identify what works and what doesn’t.

Developed at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS), the Myok9 cell line is a lab-grown canine muscle cell model that allows scientists to evaluate treatments in a controlled laboratory setting before moving into further studies.

The approach supports a growing national effort to reduce animal use in research while maintaining scientific progress, particularly in fields focused on developing new therapies. The Myok9 cell line is now commercially available through multiple vendors, including one of the world’s largest cell line distributors.

“The whole purpose is to first reduce the number of animals in research and create a model that researchers can easily access and test therapies before moving into animal studies,” said Dr. Peter Nghiem, an associate professor in VMBS’ Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences and the principal investigator for the project.

A more reliable model for muscle research

The Myok9 cell line is derived from canine myoblasts — precursor, or primary, cells that play a critical role in muscle repair and regeneration, making them an important focus for studying muscle-related diseases. In the body, these cells naturally develop into muscle tissue over time.

Traditionally, researchers rely on primary cells collected directly from animals or people. While useful, those cells have a limited lifespan in the lab, typically surviving only a few rounds of replications before they stop dividing and die.

“When primary cells die off quickly, it limits how many treatments researchers can test and how long they can study them in the lab,” Nghiem said. “That can slow down the early stages of therapeutic development.”

To overcome this limitation, researchers “immortalized” the Myok9 cells by introducing a protein that allows them to replicate far beyond the normal limit; this extended lifespan makes the cells significantly more durable and easier to work with in laboratory environments.

One of the most valuable uses of the Myok9 cell line is in early-stage therapeutic testing, helping researchers identify which treatments are most promising before moving into animal studies. By screening therapies in the lab first, researchers can reduce the number of animals needed during the earliest stages of testing.

Because the cells are less sensitive to handling and experimental conditions, researchers can also test therapies more consistently in the lab.

“You can give them treatments like gene editing or gene therapy to see if it actually works,” Nghiem said. “If it does, then you can move on to the next phase of testing.”

Reducing animal research

The Myok9 cell line also aligns with a broader push from federal agencies to reduce animal use in research when possible.

“There’s a big push from the NIH and the federal government to reduce animals in research,” Nghiem said. “Tools like Myok9 can help with this by allowing researchers to first test therapies in a culture (dish) model before moving into animal studies.”

Researchers developing new drugs or gene therapies must answer several key questions during therapeutic testing, including whether a treatment works at the molecular level, whether it is safe, and whether it improves the disease being studied.

“With Myok9, we can reduce some of the number of animals used for the earlier stages of testing, particularly when evaluating whether a therapy is working as intended at the molecular level,” Nghiem said. “However, animal testing is still needed to comprehensively evaluate safety and whether the therapy improves disease outcomes.”

Expanding access to research tools

For Nghiem, one of the most exciting aspects is the potential for the cell line to support discoveries far beyond his own lab. By providing researchers with a reliable, accessible, and ethically aligned tool, Myok9 represents a step forward in how biomedical and veterinary research is conducted — balancing innovation with responsibility.

“Because these cells are commercially available, they can be distributed to laboratories around the world,” Nghiem said. “With the click of a button, researchers can order these cells, grow them in their lab, and test their therapy.”

This availability not only supports individual research projects but also opens the door for broader scientific collaboration and innovation.

As demand grows for alternative research models, tools like Myok9 are expected to play an increasingly important role in both academic and industry settings.

“A cell line that was developed in our small lab might have a scientific breakthrough somewhere around the world,” he said.

By Camryn Haines, Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences