Article

Comparative Analysis of Skeletal Muscle Satellite Cells from Hanwoo Steers and Cows for Optimizing Cell-Based Meat Production

Bosung Kim1, Doyeon Kim1, Yeongjun Choi1, Jinsung Kim1, Su-Hak Heo2, Sungkwon Park1,*
Author Information & Copyright
1Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Korea.
2Department of Medicinal Bioscience, Konkuk University, Glocal Campus, Chungcheongbuk-do 27478, Korea.
*Corresponding Author: Sungkwon Park. E-mail: sungkwonpark@sejong.ac.kr.

© Copyright 2024 Korean Society for Food Science of Animal Resources. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Received: Jun 28, 2024 ; Revised: Sep 03, 2024 ; Accepted: Sep 05, 2024

Published Online: Sep 09, 2024

Abstract

This study aimed to compare the proliferation, differentiation rates, and related gene expression levels of skeletal muscle satellite cells (SMSCs) isolated from Hanwoo steers and cows to identify a suitable source for cell-based meat production. SMSCs were extracted from three steers and three cows, and their cell growth rates, doubling times, differentiation rates, and genetic differences were determined. Comparative analysis revealed that SMSCs from steers exhibited a higher growth rate than cows. Doubling time was shorter in steers than in cows (p<0.0001). During differentiation, the cell fusion index showed significant differences between steers and cows (p<0.0001). Steers showed differentiation after 24 h, while cows showed differentiation after 72h.Genetic analysis showed that the expression level of the Pax7 gene was significantly higher in steers than in cows (p<0.001). The expression levels of differentiation-related genes, including MyoG, MRF4, and MHC1 were higher in steers than in cows. Thus, SMSCs isolated from steer muscle exhibit a faster growth rate, and these findings are expected to provide valuable information for determining the optimal cells for cell-based food.

Keywords: steers; cows; muscle satellite cells; cell culture; genetic analysis