SKELETAL MYOGENESIS ON ELASTOMERIC SUBSTRATES - IMPLICATIONS FOR TISSUE ENGINEERING

Studies geared towards understanding the interaction between skeletal muscle and biomaterials may provide useful information for the develop ment of various emerging technologies, ranging from novel delivery veh icles for genetically modified cells to fully functional skeletal musc le tissue. To determine the utility of elastomeric materials as substr ates for such applications, we asked whether skeletal myogenesis would be supported on a commercially available polyurethane, Tecoflex(R) SG -80A. G8 skeletal myoblasts were cultured on Tecoflex(R) two-dimension al solid thin films fabricated by a spin-casting method. Myoblasts att ached, proliferated, displayed migratory activity and differentiated i nto multinucleated myotubes which expressed myosin heavy chain on soli d thin films indicating that Tecoflex(R) SG-80A was permissive for ske letal myogenesis. Porous three-dimensional (3-D) cell scaffolds were f abricated in a variety of shapes, thicknesses, and porosities by an im mersion precipitation method, and where subsequently characterized wit h microscopic and mechanical methods. Mechanical analysis revealed tha t the constructs were elastomeric, recovering their original length fo llowing 100% elongation. The 3-D substrates were seeded with muscle pr ecursors to determine if muscle differentiation could be obtained with in the porous network of the fabricated constructs. Following several weeks in culture, histological studies revealed the presence of multin ucleated myotubes within the elastomeric material. In addition, immuno histochemical analysis indicated that the myotubes expressed the myosi n heavy chain protein suggesting that the myotubes had reached a state of terminal differentiation. Together the results of the study sugges t that it is indeed feasible to engineer bioartificial systems consist ing of skeletal muscle cultivated on a 3-D elastomeric substrate.