Speaker
Description
The skeletal muscle tissue exhibits good regenerative capabilities, which are however limited by injury size. As a matter of fact, large muscle lesions are characterized by poor recovery accompanied by scar formation and functional detriment, condition common to people suffering from volumetric muscle loss and needing reconstructive therapeutic approaches. Even if surgical autologous transplantation is a standardized procedure, the outcomes are often unsatisfactory. Hence, the pressing need to develop engineered artificial tissues to replace wasted muscle. Tissue engineering (TE) is an up-and-coming biotechnology with great potential for muscle repair, but no conclusive strategy has been demonstrated yet. Reconstructing the skeletal muscle architecture and function is still a challenge requiring the parallel alignment of myofibers. Within this context, we developed a novel approach for the biofabrication of human derived myo-substitutes by exploiting a population of adult myogenic stem cells, namely pericytes, in combination with 3D bio-printing technology to reply the skeletal muscle functional architecture with parallel oriented muscle fibers. The characterization of cell-laden constructs showed a remarkable myogenic activity besides a complete architectural histo-organization, revealing the actual potential of this technology to support human skeletal muscle repair and regeneration.
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