Effect of mechanical stress on cellular morphology

Abstract

Mechanical stress occurs within and between cells during embryogenesis, wound healing and in the repetitive processes performed by various muscles of the body and, therefore, an experimental system to study the effects of mechanical stress was needed. Effects of mechanical stress on cell cycle are documented elsewhere (Curtis and Seehar, 1978). This study intends to investigate whether mechanical stress affects the cellular morphology. Chicken heart fibroblasts were grown as ‘Sail-Sheets’ a situation that approximates the in vivo organization of cells and provides an appropriate material for studying the effects of mechanical factors. Sail-Sheets were stressed using a low-frequency sine-wave oscillator and a glass rod attached to a piezoelectric ceramic probe. Electron microscopy (both SEM and TEM) was carried out on both mechanically stressed and control cultures. It was found that low frequency mechanical stress (1.0 Hz) may result in a decrease in the number and size of microprocesses (m).