A novel extrusion-based 3D bioprinting system for skeletal muscle tissue engineering

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Tissue Engineering
• Regenerative Medicine

Background:

• Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting is crucial for tissue engineering, with extrusion-based systems optimal for skeletal muscle due to their ability to mimic native tissue architecture.
• Biomaterial printability is essential but often lacks cellular adhesion and absorbability, necessitating combined biomaterials, which have limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize a novel extrusion-based 3D bioprinting system for skeletal muscle tissue engineering.
• To evaluate the efficacy of the developed system in correcting volumetric muscle loss (VML) injuries in a mouse model.

Main Methods:

• Development of a novel extrusion-based 3D bioprinting system utilizing PEG-Fibrinogen, a biocompatible material.
• Fabrication of 3D constructs with aligned muscle fibers capable of spontaneous contraction in vitro.
• Transplantation of bioprinted constructs (with murine or human muscle progenitors) into a VML mouse model to assess regeneration of the Tibialis Anterior muscle.

Main Results:

• The developed bioprinting system produced highly organized 3D constructs with PEG-Fibrinogen.
• Murine muscle progenitors differentiated into aligned muscle fibers and exhibited spontaneous contraction in vitro.
• Successful regeneration of the Tibialis Anterior muscle was observed one month post-grafting in the VML mouse model.

Conclusions:

• The novel extrusion-based 3D bioprinting system using PEG-Fibrinogen is effective for skeletal muscle tissue engineering.
• The system demonstrates potential for regenerative medicine applications, including the repair of volumetric muscle loss injuries.