FIG. 8.

Immunohistochemical staining for pan-axonal neurofilament (green) and acetylcholine receptors (alpha-bungarotoxin, red) indicates that after 28 days of implantation, the engineered muscle becomes highly innervated and forms neuromuscular junctions. (A) Regions in the engineered muscle near the grafted nerve show high densities of colocalized motor neurons and acetylcholine receptor clusters, indicating development of a neuromuscular interface between the host and the graft muscle. (B) These neuromuscular junctions were found at the termini of neural branches within the SMUs. Color images available online at www.liebertpub.com/tea