STRATIS: A human-relevant in vitro or ex vivo platform that recapitulates the complex structures of skeletal muscle and the pathology of significant injury to them.

Volumetric muscle loss (VML) wounds are complex, involving skin, muscle and associated structures, and often exhibit sub-optimal healing with poor response to reconstructive and resulting in long-term scarring. Due to this complexity, the development of preclinical models is challenging. In vivo models, such as rodent models, have different pathophysiology than humans, ex vivo models have a limited physiological viability and current in vitro models have a simplified architecture and do not translate well into the clinic.  

Sponsored by Dstl, and co-funded by Dstl and EPSRC, this Challenge aims to produce a human-relevant and high throughput in vitro or ex vivo platform that recapitulates the complex structures of skeletal muscle and the pathology of significant injury to them. The development of this model could replace a significant number of animal models used in the screening and testing of regenerative therapeutics.  

Phase 2 funding has been awarded to a team led by Professor Mark Lewis, Loughborough University, to deliver the project “3D assays of vascularised and innervated human skeletal muscle injury for functional screening of pro-regenerative therapeutics”.  

Full details about this CRACK IT Challenge can be found on the Innovation Platform website.