Decellularized skeletal muscles display neurotrophic effects in three-dimensional organotypic cultures

Skeletal muscle decellularization is a process that creates natural scaffolds, preserving the structure and biological activity of the original tissue. This study investigates whether these decellularized muscle scaffolds can attract nerve axons, which is important for muscle regeneration. The researchers found that axons from spinal cord tissue are indeed attracted to and penetrate these scaffolds, demonstrating their neurotrophic properties.

• 1
  Decellularized muscles retain structural proteins of the ECM of both skeletal muscle and peripheral nervous system.
• 2
  Neural axons extended from the spinal cord are attracted by the decellularized muscles and penetrate inside the scaffolds upon 3D coculture.
• 3
  Decellularized scaffolds possess intrinsic neurotrophic properties, supporting their potential use for the treatment of clinical cases where extensive functional regeneration of the muscle is required.