Dynamically cultured, differentiated bovine adipose-derived stem cell spheroids as building blocks for biofabricating cultured fat

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 9107 - 13
• Main Authors: Klatt, Annemarie, Wollschlaeger, Jannis O., Albrecht, Franziska B., Rühle, Sara, Holzwarth, Lena B., Hrenn, Holger, Melzer, Tanja, Heine, Simon, Kluger, Petra J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 22-10-2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 13; 13/100; 13/107; 13/51; 14; 14/1; 14/34; 14/63; 631/532/1360; 631/532/2118/2074; 631/61/2035; 631/61/54/2295; 631/92/287; Adipocytes - cytology; Adipocytes - metabolism; Adipose Tissue - cytology; Adipose Tissue - metabolism; Animals; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; Bioprinting - methods; Cattle; Cell culture; Cell Culture Techniques - methods; Cell density; Cell Differentiation; Cells, Cultured; Cultured meat; Fabrication; Fatty acid composition; Fatty Acids - metabolism; Gellan gum; Humanities and Social Sciences; Meat; Meat production; multidisciplinary; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Spheroids; Spheroids, Cellular - cytology; Spheroids, Cellular - metabolism; Stem cells; Stem Cells - cytology; Stem Cells - metabolism; Suspension culture; Tissue Engineering - methods
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-53486-w

Cultured or cultivated meat, animal muscle, and fat tissue grown in vitro, could transform the global meat market, reducing animal suffering while using fewer resources than traditional meat production and no antimicrobials at all. To ensure the appeal of cultured meat to future customers, cultured fat is essential for achieving desired mouthfeel, taste, and texture, especially in beef. In this work we show the establishment of primary bovine adipose-derived stem cell spheroids in static and dynamic suspension culture. Spheroids are successfully differentiated using a single-step protocol. Differentiated spheroids from dynamic cultures maintain stability and viability during 3D bioprinting in edible gellan gum. Also, the fatty acid composition of differentiated spheroids is significantly different from control spheroids. The cells are cultured antibiotic-free to minimize the use of harmful substances. This work presents a stable and bioprintable building block for cultured fat with a high cell density in a 3D dynamic cell culture system.
Fat culturing remains a challenging task in the process of producing optimal cultivated meat. Here, using antibiotic-free culture conditions, the authors establish bovine adipose-derived stem cell spheroids as building blocks for the fabrication of cultured fat.