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Growth Factors for Skeletal Muscle Tissue Engineering
Cells, Tissues, Organs
|November 9, 2016
Summary
Dexamethasone (DEX) significantly improves engineered skeletal muscle by enhancing myogenesis, advancing structure, and increasing force production fivefold. This offers a promising approach for muscle tissue engineering and repair.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Regenerative Medicine
- Muscle Physiology
Background:
- Tissue-engineered skeletal muscle shows potential for volumetric muscle loss repair and pharmaceutical testing.
- Current engineered muscle exhibits a neonatal phenotype, limiting its clinical application.
- Understanding native muscle development is crucial for advancing engineered muscle.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review native skeletal muscle development and growth factor roles.
- To compare in vivo myogenesis with in vitro satellite cell cultures and tissue engineering.
- To investigate the novel application of dexamethasone (DEX) in skeletal muscle tissue engineering.
Main Methods:
- Review of native skeletal muscle development and growth factor signaling.
- Comparison of in vivo myogenesis, satellite cell cultures, and tissue engineering approaches.
- Application of dexamethasone (DEX) in a skeletal muscle unit (SMU) fabrication protocol, assessing timing- and dose-dependent effects.
Main Results:
- Hepatocyte and fibroblast growth factors promote satellite cell activation and proliferation.
- Insulin-like growth factor enhances myogenesis in engineered muscle.
- DEX supplementation in SMUs led to advanced sarcomeric structure, increased myotube diameter and fusion, and a fivefold increase in force production.
Conclusions:
- Dexamethasone (DEX) effectively improves myogenesis in engineered skeletal muscle.
- DEX enhances muscle structure and significantly increases force production.
- DEX represents a promising therapeutic for advancing skeletal muscle tissue engineering.
