Title

A Defined Long-Term In Vitro Tissue Engineered Model Of Neuromuscular Junctions

Keywords

In vitro test; Muscle; Nerve tissue engineering; Neural cell; Self assembly; Surface modification

Abstract

Neuromuscular junction (NMJ) formation, occurring between motoneurons and skeletal muscle, is a complex multistep process involving a variety of signaling molecules and pathways. In vitro motoneuron-muscle co-cultures are powerful tools to study the role of different growth factors, hormones and cellular structures involved in NMJ formation. In this study, a serum-free culture system utilizing defined temporal growth factor application and a non-biological substrate resulted in the formation of robust NMJs. The system resulted in long-term survival of the co-culture and selective expression of neonatal myosin heavy chain, a marker of myotube maturation. NMJ formation was verified by colocalization of dense clusters of acetylcholine receptors visualized using alpha-bungarotoxin and synaptophysin containing vesicles present in motoneuron axonal terminals. This model will find applications in basic NMJ research and tissue engineering applications such as bio-hybrid device development for limb prosthesis and regenerative medicine as well as for high-throughput drug and toxin screening applications. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

Publication Date

6-1-2010

Publication Title

Biomaterials

Volume

31

Issue

18

Number of Pages

4880-4888

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2010.02.055

Socpus ID

77951978315 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/77951978315

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