Primary skeletal myoblasts robustly fuse into multinucleated myotubes, capture donor-dependent biological variability, and provide a physiologically relevant in vitro model of skeletal muscle function, metabolism, and disease. To leverage these advantages, Curi Bio has identified Cook MyoSite’s single-donor human skMDCs as its preferred primary cell source for 3D EMT studies. These cells readily integrate into Curi Bio workflows, are compatible with Curi Bio 3D media, and form EMTs with robust contractile function, enabling scalable, physiologically relevant studies of skeletal muscle mechanisms, including metabolic regulation and atrophy.
The Mantarray platform enables quantitative metabolic interrogation of primary EMTs using complementary assays. First, glucose-starved EMTs loaded with 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) exhibited a clear insulin dose-response, with increasing 2-DG uptake at higher insulin concentrations.
Second, Mantarray enables concurrent metabolite measurements in EMTs and culture media, capturing physiologically expected glycogen and lactate responses to glucose starvation, insulin stimulation, exercise, and glucose reintroduction. Together, these results demonstrate that Mantarray-cultured EMTs support stimulus-dependent regulation of glucose uptake, glycogen storage, and glycolytic output, enabling integrated functional and metabolic analyses within a single platform.
Skeletal muscle atrophy was modeled by activating TGF-β/activin A signaling in Cook MyoSite skMDC-derived EMTs, where activin A induced progressive functional decline in twitch force. Consistent with known anabolic effects, antibody-based blockade of ActRIIA/IIB signaling prevented activin A-induced functional deficits measured on the Mantarray platform.
Curi Bio’s ecosystem for 3D EMTs enables parallel functional and biochemical measurements, providing a physiologically relevant system for modeling insulin sensitivity, metabolism, and muscle atrophy to support drug discovery while de-risking treatment-induced sarcopenia. The use of Cook MyoSite single-donor human skMDCs further strengthens this approach by providing a robust, human-relevant primary cell source that integrates seamlessly into scalable 3D EMT workflows.