The combination of glycosaminoglycans and fibrous proteins improves cell proliferation and early differentiation of bovine primary skeletal muscle cells

• Glycosaminoglycans in combination with extracellular matrix proteins improved cell proliferation and early differentiation.
• The Golgi complex was re-organized during differentiation.
• The level of MyoD persisted during differentiation, while the level of myogenin and desmin increased.

Primary muscle cell model systems from farm animals are widely used to acquire knowledge about muscle development, muscle pathologies, overweight issues and tissue regeneration. The morphological properties of a bovine primary muscle cell model system, in addition to cell proliferation and differentiation features, were characterized using immunocytochemistry, western blotting and real-time PCR. We observed a reorganization of the Golgi complex in differentiated cells. The Golgi complex transformed to a highly fragmented network of small stacks of cisternae positioned throughout the myotubes as well as around the nucleus. Different extracellular matrix (ECM) components were used as surface coatings in order to improve cell culture conditions. Our experiments demonstrated improved proliferation and early differentiation for cells grown on surface coatings containing a mixture of both glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and fibrous proteins. We suggest that GAGs and fibrous proteins mixed together into a composite biomaterial can mimic a natural ECM, and this could improve myogenesis for in vitro cell cultures.