Skeletal muscle-adipose co-cultured tissue fabricated using cell-laden microfibers and a hydrogel sheet.

The emerging interest in skeletal muscle tissue originates from its unique properties that control body movements. In particular, recent research advances in engineered skeletal muscle tissue have broadened the possibilities of applications in non-clinical models. However, due to the lack of adipose tissue, current engineered skeletal muscle tissue has the limitation of satisfying in vivo-like position and proportion of intermuscular fat. Adipose tissue within the skeletal muscle affects their functional properties. Here, a fabrication method for co-cultured tissue composed of skeletal muscle and adipose tissues is proposed to reproduce the functional and morphological characteristics of muscle. By implementing pre-matured adipose microfibers in a myoblast-laden hydrogel sheet, both the accumulation of large lipid droplets and control of the position of adipose tissue within the skeletal muscle tissue becomes feasible. The findings of this study provide helpful information regarding engineered skeletal muscle, which has strong potential in drug screening models. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.