Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41629330›Full record

ArticleNPJ science of food2026

A small molecule strategy with forskolin and p38 inhibitor for serum-free muscle stem cell expansion.

Hao Lu, Zheng Liu, Xiaoyu Liu, Yijia Pan, Dan Yan, Xinpei Cheng, Longfei Zhang, Shijie Ding, Chunbao Li, Guanghong Zhou and 1 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in NPJ science of food, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Hao LuState Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, Key Laboratory of Meat Processing, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Meat Production, Processing and Quality Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Zheng LiuState Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, Key Laboratory of Meat Processing, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Meat Production, Processing and Quality Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Xiaoyu LiuState Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, Key Laboratory of Meat Processing, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Meat Production, Processing and Quality Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Yijia PanState Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, Key Laboratory of Meat Processing, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Meat Production, Processing and Quality Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Dan YanState Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, Key Laboratory of Meat Processing, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Meat Production, Processing and Quality Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Xinpei ChengState Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, Key Laboratory of Meat Processing, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Meat Production, Processing and Quality Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Longfei ZhangState Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, Key Laboratory of Meat Processing, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Meat Production, Processing and Quality Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Shijie DingJoes Future Food Technology Co., Ltd, Nanjing, China.
Chunbao LiState Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, Key Laboratory of Meat Processing, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Meat Production, Processing and Quality Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Guanghong ZhouState Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, Key Laboratory of Meat Processing, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Meat Production, Processing and Quality Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Renpeng GuoState Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, Key Laboratory of Meat Processing, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Meat Production, Processing and Quality Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China. guorp@njau.edu.cn.

Funding

Jiangsu Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Fund CX(24)1019Nanjing Major Science and Technology Special (Comprehensive Category) Project 202309014the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities KYT2024003the National Natural Science Foundation of China 32272468
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cultured meat represents a promising sustainable food source, yet the development of efficient serum-free media remains a key bottleneck. Small molecules offer a cost-effective approach to system optimization. Through a functional screening of proliferation activators in bovine muscle stem cells (bMuSCs), we identified forskolin and formulated the serum-free "Beefy-F" medium. Over six passages, Beefy-F yielded 1.9 times more bMuSCs than the basal serum-free control (Beefy-9), matching serum-controlled levels while maintaining bMuSC morphology, myogenic gene expression, and differentiation potential. Subsequent synergistic screening revealed that the p38 inhibitor SB202190 enhanced forskolin's effects. The optimized "Beefy-F + S" medium significantly outperformed both the basal serum-free control and single-supplemented formulations after three passages, upregulated the stemness marker PAX7, and preserved differentiation capacity. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that the Beefy-F + S medium broadly altered the bMuSC transcriptome to maintain myogenic identity, upregulate cell cycle genes, and reshape extracellular matrix (ECM) pathways, with forskolin sustaining myogenic factors and the p38 inhibitor promoting proliferation and modulating ECM interactions. Overall, this study establishes a cost-effective, small molecule-based strategy for the robust serum-free expansion of bMuSCs.

Identifiers

PMID41629330
PMCPMC12966326

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.