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Martins B, Bister A, Dohmen RGJ, Gouveia MA, Hueber R, Melzener L, Messmer T, Papadopoulos J, Pimenta J, Raina D, Schaeken L, Shirley S, Bouchet BP, Flack JE. Advances and Challenges in Cell Biology for Cultured Meat. Annu Rev Anim Biosci 2024; 12:345-368. [PMID: 37963400 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-animal-021022-055132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
Cultured meat is an emerging biotechnology that aims to produce meat from animal cell culture, rather than from the raising and slaughtering of livestock, on environmental and animal welfare grounds. The detailed understanding and accurate manipulation of cell biology are critical to the design of cultured meat bioprocesses. Recent years have seen significant interest in this field, with numerous scientific and commercial breakthroughs. Nevertheless, these technologies remain at a nascent stage, and myriad challenges remain, spanning the entire bioprocess. From a cell biological perspective, these include the identification of suitable starting cell types, tuning of proliferation and differentiation conditions, and optimization of cell-biomaterial interactions to create nutritious, enticing foods. Here, we discuss the key advances and outstanding challenges in cultured meat, with a particular focus on cell biology, and argue that solving the remaining bottlenecks in a cost-effective, scalable fashion will require coordinated, concerted scientific efforts. Success will also require solutions to nonscientific challenges, including regulatory approval, consumer acceptance, and market feasibility. However, if these can be overcome, cultured meat technologies can revolutionize our approach to food.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatriz Martins
- Mosa Meat B.V., Maastricht, The Netherlands; , , , , , , , , , , , ,
| | - Arthur Bister
- Mosa Meat B.V., Maastricht, The Netherlands; , , , , , , , , , , , ,
| | - Richard G J Dohmen
- Mosa Meat B.V., Maastricht, The Netherlands; , , , , , , , , , , , ,
- Department of Physiology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Maria Ana Gouveia
- Mosa Meat B.V., Maastricht, The Netherlands; , , , , , , , , , , , ,
| | - Rui Hueber
- Mosa Meat B.V., Maastricht, The Netherlands; , , , , , , , , , , , ,
| | - Lea Melzener
- Mosa Meat B.V., Maastricht, The Netherlands; , , , , , , , , , , , ,
- Department of Physiology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Tobias Messmer
- Mosa Meat B.V., Maastricht, The Netherlands; , , , , , , , , , , , ,
- Department of Physiology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Joanna Papadopoulos
- Mosa Meat B.V., Maastricht, The Netherlands; , , , , , , , , , , , ,
| | - Joana Pimenta
- Mosa Meat B.V., Maastricht, The Netherlands; , , , , , , , , , , , ,
| | - Dhruv Raina
- Mosa Meat B.V., Maastricht, The Netherlands; , , , , , , , , , , , ,
| | - Lieke Schaeken
- Mosa Meat B.V., Maastricht, The Netherlands; , , , , , , , , , , , ,
| | - Sara Shirley
- Mosa Meat B.V., Maastricht, The Netherlands; , , , , , , , , , , , ,
| | - Benjamin P Bouchet
- Mosa Meat B.V., Maastricht, The Netherlands; , , , , , , , , , , , ,
- Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Biophysics, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands;
| | - Joshua E Flack
- Mosa Meat B.V., Maastricht, The Netherlands; , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Melzener L, Spaans S, Hauck N, Pötgens AJG, Flack JE, Post MJ, Doğan A. Short-Stranded Zein Fibers for Muscle Tissue Engineering in Alginate-Based Composite Hydrogels. Gels 2023; 9:914. [PMID: 37999004 PMCID: PMC10671123 DOI: 10.3390/gels9110914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2023] [Revised: 11/04/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Cultivated meat is a nascent technology that aims to create an environmentally and animal-friendly alternative to conventional meat. Producing skeletal muscle tissue in an animal-free system allowing for high levels of myofusion and maturation is important for the nutritional and sensorial value of cultivated meat. Alginate is an attractive biomaterial to support muscle formation as it is food-safe, sustainable and cheap and can be crosslinked using non-toxic methods. Although alginate can be functionalized to promote cell attachment, limitations in its mechanical properties, including form, viscosity, and stress relaxation, hinder the cellular capacity for myogenic differentiation and maturation in alginate-based hydrogels. Here, we show that the addition of electrospun short-stranded zein fibers increased hydrogel degradation, resulting in faster compaction, improved cell-gel interaction, and enhanced alignment of bovine muscle precursor cells. We conclude that fiber-hydrogel composites are a promising approach to support optimal formation of 3D constructs, by improving tissue stability and thus prolonging culture duration. Together, this improves muscle-related protein content by facilitating myogenic differentiation and priming muscle organoids for maturation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lea Melzener
- Department of Physiology, Maastricht University, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands; (L.M.); (M.J.P.)
- Mosa Meat B.V., 6229 PM Maastricht, The Netherlands; (S.S.); (A.J.G.P.); (J.E.F.)
| | - Sergio Spaans
- Mosa Meat B.V., 6229 PM Maastricht, The Netherlands; (S.S.); (A.J.G.P.); (J.E.F.)
| | - Nicolas Hauck
- Mosa Meat B.V., 6229 PM Maastricht, The Netherlands; (S.S.); (A.J.G.P.); (J.E.F.)
| | - André J. G. Pötgens
- Mosa Meat B.V., 6229 PM Maastricht, The Netherlands; (S.S.); (A.J.G.P.); (J.E.F.)
| | - Joshua E. Flack
- Mosa Meat B.V., 6229 PM Maastricht, The Netherlands; (S.S.); (A.J.G.P.); (J.E.F.)
| | - Mark J. Post
- Department of Physiology, Maastricht University, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands; (L.M.); (M.J.P.)
- Mosa Meat B.V., 6229 PM Maastricht, The Netherlands; (S.S.); (A.J.G.P.); (J.E.F.)
| | - Arın Doğan
- Mosa Meat B.V., 6229 PM Maastricht, The Netherlands; (S.S.); (A.J.G.P.); (J.E.F.)
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Messmer T, Dohmen RGJ, Schaeken L, Melzener L, Hueber R, Godec M, Didoss C, Post MJ, Flack JE. Single-cell analysis of bovine muscle-derived cell types for cultured meat production. Front Nutr 2023; 10:1212196. [PMID: 37781115 PMCID: PMC10535090 DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1212196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Cultured meat technologies leverage the proliferation and differentiation of animal-derived stem cells ex vivo to produce edible tissues for human consumption in a sustainable fashion. However, skeletal muscle is a dynamic and highly complex tissue, involving the interplay of numerous mono- and multinucleated cells, including muscle fibers, satellite cells (SCs) and fibro-adipogenic progenitors (FAPs), and recreation of the tissue in vitro thus requires the characterization and manipulation of a broad range of cell types. Here, we use a single-cell RNA sequencing approach to characterize cellular heterogeneity within bovine muscle and muscle-derived cell cultures over time. Using this data, we identify numerous distinct cell types, and develop robust protocols for the easy purification and proliferation of several of these populations. We note overgrowth of undesirable cell types within heterogeneous proliferative cultures as a barrier to efficient cultured meat production, and use transcriptomics to identify conditions that favor the growth of SCs in the context of serum-free medium. Combining RNA velocities computed in silico with time-resolved flow cytometric analysis, we characterize dynamic subpopulations and transitions between active, quiescent, and committed states of SCs, and demonstrate methods for modulation of these states during long-term proliferative cultures. This work provides an important reference for advancing our knowledge of bovine skeletal muscle biology, and its application in the development of cultured meat technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Messmer
- Mosa Meat B.V., Maastricht, Netherlands
- Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Richard G. J. Dohmen
- Mosa Meat B.V., Maastricht, Netherlands
- Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | | | - Lea Melzener
- Mosa Meat B.V., Maastricht, Netherlands
- Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | | | | | | | - Mark J. Post
- Mosa Meat B.V., Maastricht, Netherlands
- Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
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