Engineering Anisotropic Muscle Tissue using Acoustic Cell Patterning.

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Regenerative Medicine
• Tissue Engineering

Background:

• Faithful reproduction of native cellular organization is crucial for successful tissue engineering.
• Current methods often rely on material cues or complex fabrication for cell alignment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the use of ultrasound standing waves for organizing myoblast populations.
• To engineer aligned muscle tissue constructs using acoustic patterning.

Main Methods:

• Utilized ultrasound standing waves to pattern myoblasts in type I collagen and gelatin methacryloyl hydrogels.
• Engineered patterned muscle constructs under mechanical constraint.
• Analyzed cell and fiber alignment, myofibrillogenesis, and muscle fiber formation.

Main Results:

• Acoustic patterning of myoblasts resulted in significant anisotropy in tensile strength in collagen hydrogels.
• Demonstrated microscale alignment of cells and fibers under mechanical constraint.
• Enhanced myofibrillogenesis and formed muscle fibers with aligned myotubes (120-150 µm width, 180-220 µm spacing) in gelatin methacryloyl hydrogels.
• Achieved remote patterning of aligned myotube fibers without material cues.

Conclusions:

• Ultrasound standing waves provide a versatile, non-invasive method for engineering aligned muscle tissue.
• This technique represents a significant advance in muscle tissue engineering and spatially organized cell cultures.
• The methodology has broad applicability for organoid development and bioelectronics.