Scalable production of muscle and adipose cell-laden microtissues using edible macroporous microcarriers for 3D printing of cultured fish fillets

Xuan Zhou, Hongwei Zheng (zhenghongwei@ouc.edu.cn), Yanchi Wu, Haowen Yin, Xiangzhao Mao, Ningyang Li, Huarong Guo, Yaoguang Chang, Xiaoming Jiang, Qinghui Ai and Changhu Xue (xuech@ouc.edu.cn)
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Xuan Zhou: Ocean University of China
Hongwei Zheng: Ocean University of China
Yanchi Wu: Ocean University of China
Haowen Yin: Ocean University of China
Xiangzhao Mao: Ocean University of China
Ningyang Li: Ocean University of China
Huarong Guo: Ocean University of China
Yaoguang Chang: Ocean University of China
Xiaoming Jiang: Ocean University of China
Qinghui Ai: Ocean University of China
Changhu Xue: Ocean University of China

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Abstract Cellular agriculture is a novel platform for addressing the issues of protein scarcity, environmental pressures, and food safety. However, expanding seed cells at a large scale remains a prerequisite for achieving industrial cultured meat production. We here propose the production of large-pore-sized edible porous microcarriers (EPMs) by using NaCl to precisely control ice crystal growth during cryogenic crosslinking. Muscle satellite cells (SCs) and adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) from large yellow croakers exhibit remarkable adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation on gelatin-based EPMs. Following consecutive expansion, SCs and ASCs densities reach 6.25 × 105 and 5.77 × 105 cells/mL, leading to a 499-fold and 461-fold increase in cell numbers, respectively. Subsequently, the mature microtissues are incorporated into a bioink, thereby enabling successful three-dimensional printing of cultured fish fillets with sensory properties similar to native fish fillets. EPM-based cell expansion and food structuring techniques are promising in facilitating large-scale cultured fish meat production.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57015-1

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