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REVIEW article

Front. Chem. Eng.

Sec. Biochemical Engineering

Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fceng.2025.1637075

This article is part of the Research TopicBioinformatic Approaches to Tissue EngineeringView all articles

Cell manufacturing for cell-based tissue engineering: a focus on vascularized, skeletal muscle regeneration

Provisionally accepted
  • University of Delaware, Newark, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Cell manufacturing processes play a crucial role in cell-based tissue engineering by isolating, purifying, culturing, expanding, modifying, cryopreserving, and formulating patient-derived cells in vitro before utilizing them for tissue regeneration. Currently, researchers apply various methods for cell manufacturing, including bioreactors, defined chemical cues, and substrate modifications. However, factors such as loss of cell potency and heterogeneity are critical challenges when engineering tissues for regenerative medicine. In particular, neglecting cellular heterogeneity during cell expansion prevents the formation of tissues that recapitulate the structural and cellular heterogeneity of our native tissues. This review discusses current and emerging approaches for cell manufacturing, with a focus on biomanufacturing for vascularized, skeletal muscle tissue engineering. Specifically, this review highlights 1) the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's regulation of manufacturing for cell therapies, 2) state-of-the-art approaches for manufacturing endothelial cells and muscle stem cells that maintain cellular identity and potency, and 3) emerging tools and methods for measuring and manipulating cellular heterogeneities. Ultimately, these approaches can be leveraged to manufacture and formulate tissue-engineered products that mimic the heterogeneous form and function of our native tissues.

Keywords: Cellular heterogeneity, Potency, cell identity, Cell manufacturing, Tissue Engineering, vascularization, muscle regeneration

Received: 28 May 2025; Accepted: 23 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 de Medeiros Cartaxo Esmeraldo, Laurence and Kwee. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Brian Kwee, University of Delaware, Newark, United States

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.