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Rodent Model of Masseter Volumetric Muscle Loss for Studying Bioengineering Materials
Published on: May 31, 2024
318
Engineering the immune and fibrotic response in VML
Dallas E Altamirano1,2, Dominic E Davis1,2, Hai-Quan Mao1,2,3,4
1Translational Tissue Engineering Center, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
The Journal of Physiology
|May 5, 2025
Summary
Volumetric muscle loss (VML) presents regeneration challenges. Tissue-engineered muscle grafts show promise by supplementing cells and modulating the immune response to improve muscle repair.
Area of Science:
- Regenerative Medicine
- Biomaterials Science
- Musculoskeletal Research
Background:
- Volumetric muscle loss (VML) significantly impairs muscle regeneration.
- Current treatments like free functional muscle transfer have limitations.
- VML leads to immune dysregulation and fibrosis, hindering healing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current and emerging strategies for treating VML.
- To highlight the potential of tissue-engineered muscle grafts.
- To discuss the need for immune and fibrotic modulation in VML treatment.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent literature on VML treatments.
- Analysis of tissue-engineered muscle graft approaches.
- Discussion of cellular signaling in fibrosis amelioration.
Main Results:
- Tissue-engineered muscle grafts offer structural support and address myogenic deficits.
- Combined approaches using myogenic cells with immune or fibrotic modulators show increased success.
- Current models may not fully represent the fibrotic complexity of clinical VML scenarios.
Conclusions:
- Tissue-engineered muscle grafts are a promising therapeutic avenue for VML.
- Simultaneous myogenic cell supplementation and immune/fibrotic modulation are key to successful VML treatment.
- Further research is needed to understand and target fibrotic signaling in VML.
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