Melzener Lea, Spaans Sergio, Hauck Nicolas, Pötgens André J G, Flack Joshua E, Post Mark J, Doğan Arın
Department of Physiology, Maastricht University, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Mosa Meat B.V., 6229 PM Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Gels. 2023 Nov 17;9(11):914. doi: 10.3390/gels9110914.
Cultivated meat is a nascent technology that aims to create an environmentally and animal-friendly alternative to conventional meat. Producing skeletal muscle tissue in an animal-free system allowing for high levels of myofusion and maturation is important for the nutritional and sensorial value of cultivated meat. Alginate is an attractive biomaterial to support muscle formation as it is food-safe, sustainable and cheap and can be crosslinked using non-toxic methods. Although alginate can be functionalized to promote cell attachment, limitations in its mechanical properties, including form, viscosity, and stress relaxation, hinder the cellular capacity for myogenic differentiation and maturation in alginate-based hydrogels. Here, we show that the addition of electrospun short-stranded zein fibers increased hydrogel degradation, resulting in faster compaction, improved cell-gel interaction, and enhanced alignment of bovine muscle precursor cells. We conclude that fiber-hydrogel composites are a promising approach to support optimal formation of 3D constructs, by improving tissue stability and thus prolonging culture duration. Together, this improves muscle-related protein content by facilitating myogenic differentiation and priming muscle organoids for maturation.
培养肉是一项新兴技术，旨在创造一种对环境友好且有利于动物的传统肉类替代品。在无动物系统中生产骨骼肌组织，实现高水平的肌融合和成熟，对于培养肉的营养价值和感官价值至关重要。藻酸盐是一种有吸引力的生物材料，可支持肌肉形成，因为它食品安全、可持续且价格低廉，并且可以使用无毒方法进行交联。尽管藻酸盐可以功能化以促进细胞附着，但其机械性能（包括形状、粘度和应力松弛）的局限性阻碍了基于藻酸盐的水凝胶中细胞的成肌分化和成熟能力。在这里，我们表明添加静电纺丝短链玉米醇溶蛋白纤维可增加水凝胶降解，从而加快压实速度、改善细胞与凝胶的相互作用，并增强牛肌肉前体细胞的排列。我们得出结论，纤维-水凝胶复合材料是一种很有前景的方法，可通过提高组织稳定性从而延长培养时间来支持三维构建体的最佳形成。总之，这通过促进成肌分化和启动肌肉类器官成熟来提高肌肉相关蛋白含量。
