Ibelli, A. M. G. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2025

Establishment of chicken muscle and adipogenic cell cultures for cultivated meat production

Cultured meat aims to replicate the sensory and functional properties of conventional meat by developing structured muscle tissue using cell culture. This study focuses on the culture of chicken embryonic and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to derive muscle, and fat, optimizing conditions for differentiation and integration. We utilized monolayer and three-dimensional microcarrier-based cultures to produce muscle fibers and adipocytes while maintaining the extracellular matrix (ECM) integrity essential for tissue cohesion. Key pluripotency and myogenic markers (e.g., cOCT4, cMYOD, cMYH1E) were analyzed during differentiation, revealing dynamic gene expression patterns that underscore myogenesis. Myoblast differentiation into mature myotubes demonstrated decreased cPAX7 and increased cMYMK, confirming lineage commitment and muscle fiber formation. Adipogenesis was induced in MSCs using food-grade lecithin, which activated PPAR{gamma}, C/EBP, and FABP4, resulting in robust lipid droplet accumulation. To scale production, microcarriers facilitated cell proliferation, while transglutaminase-based stabilization enabled the formation of three-dimensional tissue structures comparable to native meat. Our findings highlight advances in culture protocols, genotypic and phenotypic expression analyses of multinucleated chicken muscle and adipocyte cells for cultured meat production.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2025

Estimating the replicability of Brazilian biomedical science

Concerns over the replicability and reproducibility of published research have grown in many research fields, but empirical data to inform policies are still scarce. Biomedical research in Brazil expanded rapidly over the last three decades, with no systematic assessment of the replicability of its findings. With this in mind, we set up the Brazilian Reproducibility Initiative, a multicenter replication of published experiments from Brazilian science using three common experimental methods: the MTT assay, the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and the elevated plus maze (EPM). A total of 56 laboratories performed 143 replications of 56 experiments; of these, 90 replications of 45 experiments were considered valid by an independent committee. Replication rates for these experiments varied between 20 and 44% according to five predefined criteria. In median terms, ratios between group means were 58% lower in replications than in original experiments, while coefficients of variation were 82% higher. Effect size decrease was smaller for MTT experiments, original results with less variability and those considered more challenging to replicate, while t values for replications were positively correlated with researcher predictions about replicability, and negatively correlated with the rate of publications by the original articles last author. Deviations from preregistered protocols were very common in replications, most frequently due to reasons inherent to the experimental model or related to infrastructure and logistics. Our results highlight factors that limit the replicability of results published by researchers in Brazil and suggest ways by which this scenario can be improved.

scientific communication and education↗