Applying Tissue Engineering to Enhance Muscle Regeneration

• James Martin, Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware

• Brian Kwee, Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware

Myoblasts are a type of muscle progenitor stem cell that can fuse into functional muscle fibers, also known as myotubes. Various factors influence the resulting muscle cells and their characteristics. Some potential factors are integrin and cadherin surface proteins. These surface proteins affect the cells’ ability to interact and bind with their environment and other cells. Integrin B1 and cadherins CD9 and CD81 have the potential to significantly influence the fusion of myoblasts. To test this hypothesis, two methods were used. The first method involves using a FACS sorting machine to sort cells into separate populations based on their expression of the desired surface marker, in this case, B1 integrin. The second method involves exposing cells to antibodies that block the effects of the desired surface markers, in this case CD9 and CD81. Each of these methods allows for the analysis of the effect each surface marker has on the development of the cells. The data suggests that up-regulating B1 and down-regulating CD81 can improve the fusion of myoblasts into myotubes. By determining how to best optimize the fusion of myoblasts, better lab-grown muscle cells can be produced. These cells would have a wide array of applications both in research and in medicine for the repair of heavily damaged muscle. Building on the data already collected, the next steps would involve finding the most efficient ways to obtain optimized populations of cells with a high fusion rate. Currently, we are considering using other small molecules for blocking, or potentially utilizing CRISPR gene editing.