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Engineered skeletal muscle holds potential for tissue engineering and biohybrid robotics applications. However, current strategies face challenges in enhancing force generation while maintaining stability and scalability of the muscle, largely due to insufficient oxygenation and limited nutrient delivery. In this study, we present an engineering approach to address these limitations by coculturing (), a photosynthetic unicellular green microalga, with C2C12 myoblasts in a hydrogel matrix. Leveraging the photosynthetic activity of , our microalgae-empowered muscle (MAM) constructs exhibited superior contractility and almost three times higher active force generation compared to conventional muscle constructs. MAM showed higher cellular viability and reduced tissue damage, attributed to in situ oxygenation and nutrient supply provided by microalgal photosynthesis. In addition, improved myotube alignment was observed in MAM, which contributed to enhanced force generation. Our findings showcase the potential of photosynthetic microalgae as a functional component in engineered skeletal muscle, offering a solution to longstanding challenges in muscle engineering.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adw5786 | DOI Listing |
Am J Physiol Cell Physiol
September 2025
Department of Cancer Biology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC.
Cachexia, the loss of skeletal muscle mass and function with cancer, contributes to reduced life quality and worsened survival. Skeletal muscle fibrosis leads to disproportionate muscle weakness; however, the role of infiltrating immune cells and fibro-adipogenic progenitors (FAPs) in cancer-induced muscle fibrosis is not well understood. Using the C26 model of cancer cachexia, we sought to examine the changes to skeletal muscle immune cells and FAPs which contribute to excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) collagen deposition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Physiol Cell Physiol
September 2025
Division of Medical Sciences, NOSM University, Ontario, Canada.
Cancer induced skeletal muscle wasting (cachexia) is responsible for over 20% of cancer related deaths, yet much about the pathophysiology of the condition remains unknown. Importantly, cancer cachexia does not seem wholly responsive to traditional anabolic stimuli such as nutritional interventions. It is possible that tumours directly or indirectly target skeletal muscle for their dynamic and abundant pool of amino acids that can be reliably used by tumours to supplement energy production and biomass synthesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Forensic Med Pathol
September 2025
Department of Pathology, St Louis University School of Medicine, Office of the Medical Examiner - City of St. Louis, St. Louis, MO.
Myotonic dystrophy type 1, or dystrophia myotonica type 1 (DM1), is a multisystem disorder inherited in an autosomal dominant manner. It is caused by a CTG tri-nucleotide expansion in the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of the dystrophia myotonia protein kinase (DMPK) gene. Core clinical features include progressive skeletal muscle weakness, myotonia, and systemic complications, with premature mortality most often due to respiratory or cardiac dysfunction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeuropathol Appl Neurobiol
October 2025
Division of Rheumatology and Systemic Inflammatory Diseases, III. Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Aims: Sarcoid myopathy (SaM) is characterised by granulomatous myositis (GM) and can overlap with inclusion body myositis (IBM), a late-onset chronic idiopathic inflammatory myopathy with a still enigmatic pathogenesis. As GM can occur in different clinical contexts, we aimed to examine the histomorphologic features and gene expression profiles in cases of definite SaM that may inform diagnostic and therapeutic considerations.
Methods: We performed a multidimensional characterisation of muscle biopsy specimens from patients with 'pure SaM' (n=17), SaM with concomitant IBM (SaM-IBM) (n=2), including histopathologic and ultrastructural analysis in addition to quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.
J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle
October 2025
Department of Sports Science, College of Natural Science, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea.
Background: Fine particulate matter has developmental toxicity, and midgestation is an important period for the development of foetal skeletal muscle. The ability of exercise to modulate skeletal muscle damage in mice exposed to PM during gestation remains unclear.
Methods: Pregnant C57BL/6 mice were exposed to 50 μg/m PM for 2 h on five consecutive days starting at embryonic day 12.