Engineered 2D and 3D fiber-based anisotropic microenvironments as in vitro models of skeletal muscle tissue

Skeletal muscle tissues exhibit a great regenerative capacity, allowing for successful repair in the event of injuries without significant tissue loss. However, when loss muscle is greater than 20%, the native regeneration process fails, leading to the buildup of scar tissue and impaired functionality. In this work, engineered anisotropic 2D and 3D fibrous scaffolds, respectively produced by electrospinning and 3D bioprinting, were engineered to promote C2C12 muscle cell differentiation and functional organization. 2D and 3D cell cultures demonstrated the ability of such surface cued substrate in guiding C2C12 myogenesis and biomimetic organization.