title: Muscle-derived decellularised extracellular matrix improves functional recovery in a rat latissimus dorsi muscle defect model.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Craniofacial maxillary injuries represent nearly 30% of all battlefield wounds, often involving volumetric muscle loss (VML). The physical loss of muscle results in functional deficits and cosmetic disfigurement. Although surgical solutions are limited, advances in biomaterials offer great promise for the restoration of form and function following VML. The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether muscle function could be restored in a novel VML rat model using muscle-derived extracellular matrix (M-ECM).
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten percent of the mass of the latissimus dorsi (LD) was excised. Three groups were examined: 1) no repair of defect (DEF), 2) repair with M-ECM and 3) sham (all procedures except muscle excision). Four and 8 weeks post-surgery, the isometric contractile properties of the LD were assessed in situ and selected histological properties were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The defect resulted in an initial reduction in peak isometric force (Po) of 30%. At 8 weeks the difference between DEF and sham was 20.5%. At the same time, M-ECM was only 8.4% below sham. Although the histological analysis revealed a narrow, but well-formed band of muscle running along the middle of the M-ECM, it was judged to be too small to account for the observed improvement in muscle force.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Repair of VML with M-ECM can dramatically improve muscle function independent of muscle regeneration by providing a physical bridge that accommodates force transmission across the injury site. This method of repair may provide an easily translatable surgical method for selected forms of VML.
authors.affiliation: United States Army Institute of Surgical Research, Extremity Trauma and Regenerative Medicine Research Program, San Antonio, TX, USA; Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Xiaoyu K
authors.initials: XK
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Thomas J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Walters
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005109:Extracellular Matrix; D008297:Male; D009133:Muscular Atrophy / Q000601:surgery; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020127:Recovery of Function; D013536:Suture Techniques; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds; D014945:Wound Healing
keywords: Craniofacial maxillary injuries; Muscle function; Skeletal muscle; Volumetric muscle loss