Fig. 1. Overview of experimental procedure. The preplate isolation technique was used to obtain two cell populations used for experimentation, found within early adhering preplates (EP) and late adhering preplates (LP). Myogenic (desmin-expressing) cells are enriched with each passage, thus the EP population was re-plated prior to their utilization, in order to further purify the myogenic cells. LP cells were sorted based on either Sca-1 or CD34 expression, in separate experiments, prior to their utilization. Representative dot plots of sorted cell populations, analyzed by flow cytometry, following magnetic antibody cell sorting are shown. Following their isolation, each cell population was injected into mdx skeletal muscle and monitored for their ability to restore dystrophin. They were also examined in terms of various in vitro cell characteristics.