Fabricating Muscle-Neuron Constructs with Improved Contractile Force Generation.

In this study, we fabricated innervated skeletal muscle tissue constructs comprising C2C12 myoblasts and PC12 neural cells using a magnetic force-based tissue engineering technique. We found that the C2C12/PC12 co-culture enhanced neural differentiation of PC12 cells and sarcomere formation of C2C12 myotubes, accompanying with neuromuscular junction formation. The innervated skeletal muscle tissue constructs generated significantly higher contractile forces compared with aneural (C2C12 monoculture) skeletal muscle tissue constructs. These innervated skeletal muscle tissue constructs can be a useful tool for drug testing and biological research for neuromuscular diseases.