Regulation of Myogenic Differentiation by Topologically Microgrooved Surfaces for Skeletal Muscle Tissue Engineering

Inspired by the natural topological structure of skeletal muscle tissue, the topological surface construction of bionic scaffolds for skeletal muscle repair has attracted great interest. Many previous studies have focused on the effects of the topological structure on myoblasts. However, these studies used only specific repeating sizes and shapes to achieve the myoblast alignment and myotube formation; moreover, the regulatory effects of the size of a topological structure on myogenic differentiation are often neglected, leading to a lack of guidance for the design of scaffolds for skeletal muscle tissue engineering. In this study, we fabricated a series of microgroove topographies with various widths and depths via a combination of soft lithography and melt-casting and studied their effects on the behaviors of skeletal muscle cells, especially myogenic differentiation, in detail. Microgrooved poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) substrates were found to effectively regulate the proliferation, myogenic differentiation, and myotube formation of C2C12 cells, and the degree of myogenic differentiation was significantly dependent on signals in response to the size of the microgroove structure. Compared with their depth, the width of the microgroove structures can more strongly affect the myogenic differentiation of C2C12 cells, and the degree of myoblast differentiation was enhanced with increasing groove width. Microgroove structures with relatively large groove widths and small groove depths promoted the myogenic differentiation of C2C12 cells. In addition, the integrin-mediated focal adhesion kinase signaling pathway and MAPK signaling pathway were activated in cells in response to the external topological structure, and the size of the topological structure of the material surface effectively regulated the degree of the cellular response to the external topological structure. These results can guide the design of scaffolds for skeletal muscle tissue engineering and the construction of effective bionic scaffold surfaces for skeletal muscle regeneration.