Self-aligned myofibers in 3D bioprinted extracellular matrix-based construct accelerate skeletal muscle function...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Tissue Engineering
• Regenerative Medicine

Background:

• Restoring skeletal muscle function after injury is challenging.
• Bioengineering functional muscle constructs requires effective physical, biochemical, or biological cues.
• Current methods often struggle with rapid and complete functional recovery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a self-aligned skeletal muscle construct for rapid muscle function restoration.
• To investigate the synergistic effects of biochemical and topographical cues in 3D bioprinted constructs.
• To demonstrate the efficacy of the construct in reconstructing extensive muscle defect injuries.

Main Methods:

• 3D bioprinting of a photo-crosslinkable skeletal muscle extracellular matrix-derived bioink with poly(vinyl alcohol) and human muscle progenitor cells.
• Creation of in situ uniaxially aligned micro-topographical structures via poly(vinyl alcohol) fibrillation/leaching post-printing.
• In vitro and in vivo assessments of cellular alignment, myogenic differentiation, neural integration, vascular ingrowth, and functional recovery.

Main Results:

• The developed construct successfully induced self-alignment of human muscle progenitor cells.
• Synergistic biochemical and topographical cues significantly improved myogenic differentiation and cellular alignment.
• In vivo studies showed accelerated neural network integration and vascular ingrowth.
• The construct demonstrated rapid restoration of muscle function and effective reconstruction of muscle defects.

Conclusions:

• Combined biochemical and topographical cues in 3D bioprinted skeletal muscle constructs are effective for muscle regeneration.
• This approach facilitates rapid functional restoration and tissue integration.
• The self-aligned muscle construct shows promise for treating extensive skeletal muscle injuries.