OBJECTIVETo give a concise review of the current state of the art in tissue engineering (TE) related to skeletal muscle and kinds of bioreactor environment.

DATA SOURCESThe review was based on data obtained from the published articles and guidelines.

STUDY SELECTIONA total of 106 articles were selected from several hundred original articles or reviews. The content of selected articles is in accordance with our purpose and the authors are authorized scientists in the study of engineered muscle tissue in bioreactor.

RESULTSSkeletal muscle TE is a promising interdisciplinary field which aims at the reconstruction of skeletal muscle loss. Although numerous studies have indicated that engineering skeletal muscle tissue may be of great importance in medicine in the near future, this technique still represents a limited degree of success. Since tissue-engineered muscle constructs require an adequate connection to the vascular system for efficient transport of oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients and waste products. Moreover, functional and clinically applicable muscle constructs depend on adequate neuromuscular junctions with neural cells. Third, in order to engineer muscle tissue successfully, it may be beneficial to mimic the in vivo environment of muscle through association with adequate stimuli from bioreactors.

CONCLUSIONVascular system and bioreactors are necessary for development and maintenance of engineered muscle in order to provide circulation within the construct.