Reassessment of adipocyte technology for cellular agriculture of alternative fat

• Published in: Comprehensive reviews in food science and food safety 2022-09, Vol.21 (5), p.4146-4163
• Main Authors: Sugii, Shigeki, Wong, Cheryl Yeh Qi, Lwin, Angela Khin Oo, Chew, Lamony Jian Ming
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adipocytes; Adipocytes - metabolism; Adipogenesis; adipogenesis protocols; adipose progenitor cell line; adipose‐derived stem cells; Agriculture; alternative protein; Animals; biomanufacturing/bioreactor production; Cattle; cell derivation; Cell Differentiation; Cell lines; cultivated/cultured/cell‐based/clean/in vitro/lab‐grown meat; Cultured meat; fat from cow/cattle, pig, ovine/sheep, goat, avian (chicken/duck/goose/turkey), and fish species; Humans; lipids/fatty acids/lipidomics/metabolomics of adipocytes; Livestock; PPARγ and other adipogenic genes/proteins; preadipocytes; Progenitor cells; Seafood; Stem cells; stromal vascular fraction cells; Swine; Technology; tissue engineering, biomaterials, and scaffolds
• ISSN: 1541-4337; 1541-4337
• DOI: 10.1111/1541-4337.13021

Alternative proteins, such as cultivated meat, have recently attracted significant attention as novel and sustainable food. Fat tissue/cell is an important component of meat that makes organoleptic and nutritional contributions. Although adipocyte biology is relatively well investigated, there is limited focus on the specific techniques and strategies to produce cultivated fat from agricultural animals. In the assumed standard workflow, stem/progenitor cell lines are derived from tissues of animals, cultured for expansion, and differentiated into mature adipocytes. Here, we compile information from literature related to cell isolation, growth, differentiation, and analysis from bovine, porcine, chicken, other livestock, and seafood species. A diverse range of tissue sources, cell isolation methods, cell types, growth media, differentiation cocktails, and analytical methods for measuring adipogenic levels were used across species. Based on our analysis, we identify opportunities and challenges in advancing new technology era toward producing “alternative fat” that is suitable for human consumption.