The role of Myokines in cultivated meat production

November 13, 2023

what are myokines?

Myokines are proteins secreted by skeletal muscle cells that have been found to influence muscle physiology and have systemic effects on other tissues and organs, including adipose tissue, liver, and brain. In the context of cultivated meat production, myokines play an important role in skeletal muscle formation and growth.

How are Myokines related to meat culture?

The efficiency of meat culture is largely determined by the culture conditions, such as the cell type and cell culture medium used and the biomolecular composition. Protein production can be enhanced by providing the optimum biochemical and physical conditions for skeletal muscle cell growth, while myoblasts play important roles in skeletal muscle formation and growth. Various Myokines and cytokines, such as interleukin-6, leukemia inhibitory factor, interleukin-4, interleukin-15, and interleukin-1β, have been found to have biological effects on skeletal muscle and myogenesis and may have potential roles in cultured meat production. However, more research is needed to fully understand the role of myokines in cultivated meat production and how they can be used to optimize the process

Role of cytokines in myogenesis

Cytokines	Role in Myogenesis	References
IL-6	Promotes MSC proliferation.	[33]
	Induces myogenic differentiation.	[34,36]
	Contribute to muscle regeneration.	[35]
LIF	Stimulate myogenic differentiation.	[43]
	Control the proliferation of MSC.	[42]
	Contribute to muscle regeneration.	[37,38]
IL-4	Act as a myoblast recruitment factor during muscle growth and control myoblast fusion with myotubes.	[45]
IL-4	Stimulate myogenic differentiation.	[47]
IL-15	Expressed more in differentiated myotubes than undifferentiated myoblasts.	[55]
	Act as anabolic factor capable to increase MyHC in differentiating MSCs.	[54]
	Stimulate myogenic differentiation.	[56]
IL-1β	Increase MSC proliferation.	[58]
IL-1α	Combination of four cytokines (IL-1α, IL-13, TNF-α, and IFN-γ) allowed in vitro maintenance of MSC in an undifferentiated state over 20 passages.	[59]
IL-13
TNF-α
IFN-γ