Extracellular Matrix and the Production of Cultured Meat

Abstract

Cultured meat production is an evolving method of producing animal meat using tissue engineering techniques. Cells, chemical factors, and suitable biomaterials that serve as scaffolds are all essential for the cultivation of muscle tissue. Scaffolding is essential for the development of organized meat products resembling steaks because it provides the mechanical stability needed by cells to attach, differentiate, and mature. In in vivo settings, extracellular matrix (ECM) ensures substrates and scaffolds are provided for cells. The ECM of skeletal muscle (SM) maintains tissue elasticity, creates adhesion points for cells, provides a three-dimensional (3D) environment, and regulates biological processes. Consequently, creating mimics of native ECM is a difficult task. Animal-derived polymers like collagen are often regarded as the gold standard for producing scaffolds with ECM-like properties. Animal-free scaffolds are being investigated as a potential source of stable, chemically defined, low-cost materials for cultured meat production. In this review, we explore the influence of ECM on myogenesis and its role as a scaffold and vital component to improve the efficacy of the culture media used to produce cultured meat.

Keywords: cultured meat; extracellular matrix; scaffold; skeletal muscle.

Figure 1

Skeletal muscle ECM: (A) three-layer structural schematic and associated ECM components; (B) Schematic representation of ECM-related protein activities during the different phases of myogenesis.