Cultured meat on a plant-based frame

A biocompatible pea protein isolate-derived bioink for 3D bioprinting and tissue engineering

Three-dimensional bioprinting is a potent biofabrication technique in tissue engineering but is limited by inadequate bioink availability. Plant-derived proteins are increasingly recognized as highly promising yet underutilized materials for biomedical product development and hold potential for use in bioink formulations. Herein, we report the development of a biocompatible plant protein bioink from pea protein isolate. Through pH shifting, ethanol precipitation, and lyophilization, the pea protein isolate (PPI) transformed from an insoluble to a soluble form. Next, it was modified with glycidyl methacrylate to obtain methacrylate-modified PPI (PPIGMA), which is photocurable and was used as the precursor of bioink. The mechanical and microstructural studies of the hydrogel containing 16% PPIGMA revealed a suitable compress modulus and a porous network with a pore size over 100 μm, which can facilitate nutrient and waste transportation. The PPIGMA bioink exhibited good 3D bioprinting performance in creating complex patterns and good biocompatibility as plenty of viable cells were observed in the printed samples after 3 days of incubation in the cell culture medium. No immunogenicity of the PPIGMA bioink was identified as no inflammation was observed for 4 weeks after implantation in Sprague Dawley rats. Compared with methacrylate-modified gelatin, the PPIGMA bioink significantly enhanced cartilage regeneration in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that it can be used in tissue engineering applications. In summary, the PPIGMA bioink can be potentially used for tissue engineering applications.

Recent advances in bioengineered scaffold for in vitro meat production

In vitro meat production via stem cell technology and tissue engineering provides hypothetically elevated resource efficiency which involves the differentiation of muscle cells from pluripotent stem cells. By applying the tissue engineering technique, muscle cells are cultivated and grown onto a scaffold, resulting in the development of muscle tissue. The studies related to in vitro meat production are advancing with a seamless pace, and scientists are trying to develop various approaches to mimic the natural meat. The formulation and fabrication of biodegradable and cost-effective edible scaffold is the key to the successful development of downstream culture and meat production. Non-mammalian biopolymers such as gelatin and alginate or plant-derived proteins namely soy protein and decellularized leaves have been suggested as potential scaffold materials for in vitro meat production. Thus, this article is aimed to furnish recent updates on bioengineered scaffolds, covering their formulation, fabrication, features, and the mode of utilization.

Tailoring a Gelatin/Agar Matrix for the Synergistic Effect with Cells to Produce High-Quality Cultured Meat

Edible scaffolds are needed in cultured meat to mimic meat's three-dimensional structure by organizing cells and replenishing the insufficient meat mass of cells alone. However, there is still a large gap between slaughtered meat and cells developed into tissues using scaffolds. This is mainly due to the difference in size, texture, flavor, and taste. In this study, we develop a coating matrix to modify the surface of textured vegetable protein (TVP), a vegetable cell support, to produce cultured meat having slaughtered meat's essential characteristics. We optimized the fish gelatin/agar matrix's microstructure by controlling the ratio of the two biopolymers, stably introducing a cell adhesive environment on the TVP. By coating the optimized gelatin/agar matrix on the TVP's surface using an easy and fast dipping method, hybrid cultured meat composed of animal cells and plant protein was produced. As the cells proliferated, their synergistic effect permitted the cultured meat's texture, flavor, and taste to reach a level comparable to that of slaughtered meat. The TVP-based cultured meat prepared with the present technology has been recreated as high-quality cultured meat by satisfying five challenging factors: cells, texture, cost, mass, and flavor.

Cultured Meat Prospects for a Billion!

The dietary protein requirements of almost 9.8 billion people need to be fulfilled in a healthy and sustainable manner by 2050. Meat consumption contributes to 35% of the total protein requirement of the Indian population. Meat intake needs to be sustainable and economical without causing food security and production issues. Consumption of meat in India is projected to rise with an increase in consumer incomes. Hence, novel alternative proteins, including cultured meat (CM) and plant-based meat (PBM), are being developed to satisfy the demand for meat-derived proteins in the diet. This involves the creation of novel PBM/CM products with a similar taste and texture as conventional animal meat with tailor-made nutritional attributes. In this article, we provide critical insights into the technical and business aspects of relevance to production and sustainability encountered by the Indian CM industry at a series of stages that can be termed the CM value chain comprising upstream and downstream processes. We shed light on the need for regulatory authorities and a framework. Consumer concerns towards CM products can be alleviated through effective scientific communication strategies, including prior familiarity, narrative building and transparency, and labelling aspects of CM products.

The Emerging Role of Decellularized Plant-Based Scaffolds as a New Biomaterial

The decellularization of plant-based biomaterials to generate tissue-engineered substitutes or in vitro cellular models has significantly increased in recent years. These vegetal tissues can be sourced from plant leaves and stems or fruits and vegetables, making them a low-cost, accessible, and sustainable resource from which to generate three-dimensional scaffolds. Each construct is distinct, representing a wide range of architectural and mechanical properties as well as innate vasculature networks. Based on the rapid rise in interest, this review aims to detail the current state of the art and presents the future challenges and perspectives of these unique biomaterials. First, we consider the different existing decellularization techniques, including chemical, detergent-free, enzymatic, and supercritical fluid approaches that are used to generate such scaffolds and examine how these protocols can be selected based on plant cellularity. We next examine strategies for cell seeding onto the plant-derived constructs and the importance of the different functionalization methods used to assist in cell adhesion and promote cell viability. Finally, we discuss how their structural features, such as inherent vasculature, porosity, morphology, and mechanical properties (i.e., stiffness, elasticity, etc.) position plant-based scaffolds as a unique biomaterial and drive their use for specific downstream applications. The main challenges in the field are presented throughout the discussion, and future directions are proposed to help improve the development and use of vegetal constructs in biomedical research.

Gelatin MAGIC powder as nutrient-delivering 3D spacer for growing cell sheets into cost-effective cultured meat

Cell cultured meat is artificial meat obtained by culturing animal-derived cells in vitro, and received significant attention as an emerging future protein source. The mass proliferation of cells in the cultured meat production is a strenuous process that delays the commercialization of cultured meat because it requires an expensive culture medium for a long period. Herein, we report on a strategy to develop advanced cultured meat using fish gelatin mass growth-inducing culture (MAGIC) powder and myoblast sheets. The MAGIC powder had an edible gelatin microsphere (GMS) structure and exhibited different morphologies and bonding activities depending on the degree of crosslinking. We analyzed the loading and release of nutrients for each GMS with diverse surface properties, and selected the most effective GMSs to improve the proliferation of myoblasts under serum-reduced medium. The GMSs exerted four significant functions in the culture of myoblast sheets, and consequently produced cost- and time-effective meat-like cell sheets than the conventional method. We prepared cultured meats composed of cell sheet containing GMSs and evaluated the quality of the cultured meat by comparing the tissue properties with soy meat and chicken breast.

Cellular Agriculture: Opportunities and Challenges

Cellular agriculture is the controlled and sustainable manufacture of agricultural products with cells and tissues without plant or animal involvement. Today, microorganisms cultivated in bioreactors already produce egg and milk proteins, sweeteners, and flavors for human nutrition as well as leather and fibers for shoes, bags, and textiles. Furthermore, plant cell and tissue cultures provide ingredients that stimulate the immune system and improve skin texture, with another precommercial cellular agriculture product, in vitro meat, currently receiving a great deal of attention. All these approaches could assist traditional agriculture in continuing to provide for the dietary requirements of a growing world population while freeing up important resources such as arable land. Despite early successes, challenges remain and are discussed in this review, with a focus on production processes involving plant and animal cell and tissue cultures.

Plant-Based Scaffolds in Tissue Engineering

A wide range of platforms has been developed for 3D culture of cells in vitro to aggregate and align cells to resemble in vivo conditions in order to enhance communication between cells and promote differentiation. The cellulose skeleton of plant tissue can serve as an attainable scaffold for mammalian cells after decellularization, which is advantageous when compared to synthetic polymers or animal-derived scaffolds. Adjustable variables to modify the physical and biochemical properties of the resulting scaffolds include the protocol for the sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-based decellularization procedure, surface coatings for cell attachment, plant type for decellularization, differentiation media, and integrity and shape of the substrate. These tunable cellulose platforms can host a wide range of mammalian cell types from muscle to bone cells, as well as malignancies. Here, fundamentals and applications of decellularized plant-based scaffolds are discussed. These biocompatible, naturally perfused, tunable, and easily prepared decellularized scaffolds may allow eco-friendly manufacturing frameworks for application in tissue engineering and organs-on-a-chip.

Cultured Meat: Promises and Challenges

Cultured meat involves producing meat from animal cells, not from slaughtered animals. This innovation has the potential to revolutionize the meat industry, with wide implications for the environment, health and animal welfare. The main purpose of this paper is to stimulate some economic research on cultured meat. In particular, this paper includes a prospective discussion on the demand and supply of cultured meat. It also discusses some early results on the environmental impacts of cultured meat, emphasizing the promises (e.g., regarding the reduction in land use) but also the uncertainties. It then argues that cultured meat is a moral improvement compared to conventional meat. Finally, it discusses some regulatory issues, and the need for more public support to the innovation.

Bioreactivity of decellularized animal, plant, and fungal scaffolds: perspectives for medical applications

Numerous biomedical applications imply supportive materials to improve protective, antibacterial, and regenerative abilities upon surgical interventions, oncotherapy, regenerative medicine, and others. With the increasing variability of the possible sources, the materials of natural origin are among the safest and most accessible biomedical tools. Animal, plant, and fungal tissues can further undergo decellularization to improve their biocompatibility. Decellularized scaffolds lack the most reactive cellular material, nuclear and cytoplasmic components, that predominantly trigger immune responses. At the same time, the outstanding initial three-dimensional microarchitecture, biomechanical properties, and general composition of the scaffolds are preserved. These unique features make the scaffolds perfect ready-to-use platforms for various biomedical applications, implying cell growth and functionalization. Decellularized materials can be repopulated with various cells upon request, including epithelial, endothelial, muscle and neuronal cells, and applied for structural and functional biorepair within diverse biological sites, including the skin and musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and central nervous systems. However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms behind scaffold and host tissue interactions remain not fully understood, which significantly restricts their integration into clinical practice. In this review, we address the essential aspects of decellularization, scaffold preparation techniques, and its biochemical composition and properties, which determine the biocompatibility and immunogenicity of the materials. With the integrated evaluation of the scaffold profile in living systems, decellularized animal, plant, and fungal scaffolds have the potential to become essential instruments for safe and controllable biomedical applications.