Development and application of human skeletal muscle microphysiological systems.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Stem Cell Biology
• Skeletal Muscle Physiology

Background:

• Major diseases like type 2 diabetes, muscular dystrophy, sarcopenia, and cachexia involve skeletal muscle.
• Animal models often fail to accurately represent these complex human diseases.
• Human skeletal muscle microphysiological systems (MPS) using stem cells offer a promising in vitro alternative.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the potential of human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived skeletal muscle in vitro models.
• To compare 2D and 3D culture systems for skeletal muscle modeling.
• To identify needs for improved functional metabolic assessments in MPS.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) to generate skeletal muscle models.
• Employing three-dimensional (3D) culture systems for enhanced physiological relevance.
• Comparing hPSC-derived muscle with primary muscle cells from biopsies.

Main Results:

• 3D culture systems better mimic skeletal muscle function compared to 2D cultures.
• hPSCs allow for broader donor population sampling than traditional biopsies.
• Advances in PSC differentiation are creating viable alternatives to primary muscle cells.

Conclusions:

• hPSC-derived skeletal muscle MPS are valuable tools for modeling human diseases and individual variations.
• Further development is needed for well-differentiated hPSC-derived muscle cells for in vitro repair and improved disease modeling.
• Enhanced functional metabolic measures are crucial for skeletal muscle MPS research.