Effects of selected flavonoids on cell proliferation and differentiation of porcine muscle stem cells for cultured meat production

Stemness decline of muscle stem cells (MuSCs) is a significant problem in cultured meat processing. In the present study, three flavonoids (quercetin, icariin, and 3,2 & PRIME;-dihydroxyflavone) with multi concentrations were evaluated to promote the proliferation and differentiation of porcine muscle stem cells. In the proliferation phase, 3,2 & PRIME;-dihydroxyflavone (10 mu M) significantly amplified the cells by 34% and up-regulated the expression of paired box transcription factor 7 (PAX7) by 60%, which was higher than quercetin (75 nM) and icariin (7.5 nM). In the differentiation phase, quercetin (50 nM) showed the best pro-differentiation effect and up-regulated the expression of myosin heavy chain (MYHC) by 4.73-fold compared with the control group. These results indicated that flavonoids had a significant impact on promoting the proliferation and differentiation of porcine MuSCs, and 3,2 & PRIME;-dihydroxyflavone (10 mu M) for proliferation and quercetin (50 nM) for differentiation were the optimal combinations.

Automated summary

Flavonoids have significant effects on promoting the proliferation and differentiation of porcine muscle stem cells. 3,2-dihydroxyflavone is optimal for proliferation while quercetin is optimal for differentiation.