Bovine satellite cells isolated after 2 and 5 days of tissue storage maintain the proliferative and myogenic capacity needed for cultured meat production

Stig Skrivergaard, Martin Krøyer Rasmussen, Margrethe Therkildsen*, Jette Feveile Young

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Cultured meat is an emerging alternative food technology which aims to deliver a more ethical, sustainable, and healthy muscle-tissue-derived food item compared to conventional meat. As start-up companies are rapidly forming and accelerating this technology, many aspects of this multi-faceted science have still not been investigated in academia. In this study, we investigated if bovine satellite cells with the ability to proliferate and undergo myogenic differentiation could be isolated after extended tissue storage, for the purpose of increasing the practicality for cultured meat production. Proliferation of bovine satellite cells isolated on the day of arrival or after 2 and 5 days of tissue storage were analyzed by metabolic and DNA-based assays, while their myogenic characteristics were investigated using RT-qPCR and immunofluorescence. Extended tissue storage up to 5 days did not negatively affect proliferation nor the ability to undergo fusion and create myosin heavy chain-positive myotubes. The expression patterns of myogenic and muscle-specific genes were also not affected after tissue storage. In fact, the data indicated a positive trend in terms of myogenic potential after tissue storage, although it was non-significant. These results suggest that the timeframe of which viable myogenic satellite cells can be isolated and used for cultured meat production can be greatly extended by proper tissue storage.

Original languageEnglish
Article number8376
JournalInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences
Volume22
Issue16
ISSN1661-6596
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2021

Keywords

  • Bovine satellite cells
  • Cell proliferation
  • Cultured meat
  • Myogenic potential
  • Primary cell isolation
  • Tissue storage

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