Development of 3D vascularized muscle system in microfluidic device

Abstract

Skeletal muscle, constituting a significant part of the human body, is responsible for maintaining the balance of the body and regulating physical activity. Skeletal muscle-related diseases, such as sarcopenia or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), can cause a lack of muscle tension and a decrease in physical activity, even paralysis in severe cases. Recently, the importance of muscle research is increasing with the rising incidence of skeletal muscle diseases, associated with aging and age-related complications. In this study, we developed an integrated vessel and muscle system employing microfluidic chips to emulate the intricate muscle and vascular structures. At first, after constructing the muscle bands through a combination of double-coating and gel contraction, we create the vasculature by introducing the double-seeding method. To prevent the gel shrinkage and develop stable vasculature, vessel gel modification proceeds via the alteration of vessel gel composition. Lastly, the model's functionality is validated through electrical stimulation and image analysis, demonstrating its potential for muscle disease simulation and drug screening, and this advancement in the in vitro modeling of the muscle system contributes significantly to the progress of research on muscle-related diseases.