Michael Lin, Victoria Lu, Jessica Luo, Janell Mathus, Kyle Osborn

    There are numerous diseases that have debilitating effects on muscle function as a result of the destruction to various parts of the neural muscular junction. Consequently, there has been a need for models that more accurately represent the neuromuscular junction. Since the 1970s, current methods involve the use of petri dishes which provide some information but does not fully look at the complex three- dimensional environment that the neuromuscular junction operates within. A recent study, reported in Science Advances has created a microfluidic device that more accurately depicts a more realistic in vitro neuromuscular junction, with a 3-D environment and compartmental separation of muscles and nerves that is similar to the human body.

Differentiated muscle fibers are grown in one compartment of the device, and motor neurons in another.  The muscle precursor and neural stem cells are modified via optogenetics to be responsive to blue light, allowing more specific control of cell activation compared to electrodes.  A unique feature of this model is that it also allows researchers to assess muscle contraction via force sensing.

Future implications include using cells from patients with neuromuscular diseases used to grow in the device to generate patient specific drug therapies.

References:

Chu, Jennifer. “Replicating the connection between muscles and nerves.” MIT News Office, 03 Aug 2016. Web: http://news.mit.edu/2016/replicating-connection-between-muscles-and-nerves-0803

Uzel, S.G.M., Platt, R.J., Subramanian, V., Pearl, T.M., Rowlands, C.J., Chan, V., Boyer, L.A., So, P.T.C., and Kamm, R.D. “Microfluidic device for the formation of optically excitable, three-dimensional, compartmentalized motor units.” Science Advances, 03 Aug 2016: Vol. 2, no. 8, e1501429, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1501429