Pea Protein‐Rich Scaffolds Support 3D Bovine Skeletal Muscle Formation for Cultivated Meat Application

Abstract

In recent years, intensive efforts made to harness tissue engineering techniques to develop cultivated meat. Sustainable meat substitutes are a promising solution for the expected world food shortage; however, multiple challenges still pose barriers to the mass, low‐cost production of nutritious cultivated meat. This work is focused on the development of edible nutritious 3D scaffolds for the production of bovine muscle tissue for cultivated meat. Protein‐rich scaffolds composed of pea protein are prepared using mold‐casting and bioprinting techniques. The plant‐based scaffolds supported bovine satellite cells' attachment, growth, and differentiation into muscle tissue without the need for coating agents or high‐cost components. The presented pea‐protein‐rich scaffolds are of high nutritional value, with low allergenicity, and can be processed under low fabrication costs, which can significantly advance the commercial production of nutritious and sustainable cultivated meat.

A biocompatible pea protein isolate-derived bioink for 3D bioprinting and tissue engineering

“…13,17,18 For example, bovine muscle cells have been cultured on inexpensive and sustainable three-dimensional plant protein scaffolds; David et al investigated two processing techniques for solubilising pea proteins, which led to the fabrication of cost-effective, protein-rich scaffolds with high nutritional value, thus greatly facilitating the commercial production of cultured meat. 22,23 Hence, the primary focus lies in enhancing the water solubility of bioinks derived from plant proteins and imbuing them with photocrosslinking properties for gel formation to tailor them for DLP 3D bioprinting in tissue engineering applications. Some methods of pH-shift treatment have been applied to enhance the water solubility of plant proteins towards improving the functional properties of plant proteins; these involve treating proteins with extremely acidic or alkaline solutions followed by a neutral solution to alter the water solubility.…”