Muscle tissue engineering

Muscle tissue engineering is a subset of the general field of tissue engineering, which studies the combined use of cells and scaffolds to design therapeutic tissue implants. Within the clinical setting, muscle tissue engineering involves the culturing of cells from the patient's own body or from a donor, development of muscle tissue with or without the use of scaffolds, then the insertion of functional muscle tissue into the patient's body. Ideally, this implantation results in full regeneration of function and aesthetic within the patient's body. Outside the clinical setting, muscle tissue engineering is involved in drug screening, hybrid mechanical muscle actuators, robotic devices, and the development of cell-cultured meat meat as a new food source.

Innovations within the field of muscle tissue engineering seek to repair and replace defective muscle tissue, thus returning normal function.The practice begins by harvesting and isolating muscle cells from a donor site, then culturing those cells in media. The cultured cells form cell sheets and finally muscle bundles which are implanted into the patient.

Overview

Muscle is a naturally aligned organ, with individual muscle fibers packed together into larger units called muscle fascicles. The uniaxial alignment of muscle fibers allows them to simultaneously contract in the same direction and properly propagate force on the bones via the tendons. Approximately 45% of the human body is composed of muscle tissue, and this tissue can be classified into three different groups: skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle. Muscle plays a role in structure, stability, and movement in mammalian bodies.