Engineered Edible Bovine Fat Tissue for Cultured Meat

Conventional meat consumption and production are accompanied by public concerns including foodborne diseases, nutrition-related disorders, resource use and ecological pollution. Cultured meat can provide an alternative solution, reducing the negative effects associated with conventional meat production. Cultured meat is an innovative approach to produce meat in the lab using tissue-engineering techniques. It involves culturing cells derived from cows in-vitro while avoiding cow slaughter and growing them under suitable conditions to form a mature tissue. Here we aimed to engineer edible bovine fat tissue for cultured meat. Adipose-derived bovine mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) were isolated and characterized using PCR for identifying cell population. Different protocols for adipogenic differentiation were assessed and optimized in 2D culture. Then, BMSCs were encapsulated in 3D edible constructs, grown and differentiated with the optimized protocol. To assess adipogenesis, oil red-O or LipidTox staining for lipid droplets, immunofluorescence staining, and gene expression by RT-qPCR were performed. The isolated BMSCs were CD29, CD73, CD105, CD90, CD44 positive and CD45 negative, exhibiting phenotypic profiles of adipose-derived MSCs. The most efficient adipogenic differentiation protocol was optimized and induced on BMSCs in 3D edible scaffold. As indicated by lipids accumulation, adipogenic differentiation of the isolated BMSCs in 2D and in 3D constructs was obtained. We established protocols for isolating and differentiating BMSCs into adipocytes both in 2D and 3D environments towards the goal of engineering fat tissue.