Provided is the use of a retinoic acid receptor gamma (RARγ) agonist or pluripotent or multipotent stem cells pre-treated by contact with a RARγ agonist for muscle repair or regeneration. Examples of RARγ agonists include palovarotene (4-[(1E)-2-[5,6,7,8-Tetrahydro-5,5,8,8-tetramethyl-3-(1H-pyrazol-1-ylmethyl)-2-naphthalenyl]-ethenyl]-benzoic acid), (4-(6-Hydroxy-7-tricyclo[3.3.1.13,7]dec-1-yl-2-naphthalenyl)benzoic acid) (CD 1530), (6-(4-Hydroxy-3-tricyclo[3.3.1.13,7]dec-1-ylphenyl)-2-naphthalenecarboxylic acid) (CD 437) and (3-Fluoro-4-[(R)-2-hydroxy-2-(5,5,8,8-tetramethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-naphthalen-2-yl)-acetylamino]-benzoic acid) (BMS-270394).