Micro Tissue Assembly for Co-Culturing 3D Skeletal Muscle and Adipose Tissues

This paper proposes micro tissue assembly for co-culturing 3D skeletal muscle and adipose tissues. The adipocytes encapsulated in a microfiber were cultured in advance for maturation which accumulated significantly larger size of lipid droplets compared with conventional 2D dish culture. Then, we assembled a micro tissue by placing the microfiber-based adipose tissue on a PDMS substrate with myoblast-laden collagen solution covering on the top. The assembled micro tissue was then co-cultured for 5 days. We found that the skeletal muscle tissue fabricated in the micro tissue bundled up adipose tissue forming in-vivo like composition. Our skeletal muscle and adipose tissue assembly not only gives a promising outlook for the micro physiological system but also tools for development studies or the cultured meat industry.