Tissue engineering of skeletal muscle

Abstract

Skeletal muscle tissue can be lost locally by traumatic injury, tumor ablation or systemically by inborn or acquired myopathies. Reconstruction of this tissue is hampered by the lack of availability of functional substitution. There are various approaches to provide functional restoration of damaged muscle tissue. By autologous muscle flap transplantation or transposition techniques a successful surgical restoration might be achieved, but taking in account the donor morbidity these are not perfect solutions. A novel approach to address difficult tissue reconstruction is to engineer new tissues. Despite some of these tissue engineering techniques attempting to regenerate human tissues have recently entered into clinical practice, engineering of skeletal muscle tissue is still a scientific challenge. Most hazardous issues involved are innervation, alignment and above all others vascularization. This article reviews some of the recent developments in the field of tissue engineering functional skeletal muscle tissue.