Abstract
Here, we describe a motorized cam-driven system for the cyclic stretch of aortic endothelial cells. Our modular design allows for generating customized spatiotemporal stretch profiles by varying the profile and size of 3D printed cam and follower elements. The system is controllable, compact, inexpensive, and amenable for parallelization and long-term experiments. Experiments using human aortic endothelial cells show significant changes in the cytoskeletal structure and morphology of cells following exposure to 5 and 10% cyclic stretch over 9 and 16 h. The system provides upportunities for exploring the complex molecular and cellular processes governing the response of mechanosensitive cells under cyclic stretch.
Highlights
Hemodynamic forces play an essential role in maintaining vascular function and contribute to the development and progression of cardiovascular diseases (Hahn and Schwartz, 2009)
Our experiments show the suitability of the system for studying changes in the cytoskeletal structure and morphology of human aortic endothelial cells in response to cyclic stretch
Endothelial cells were cultured inside the side wells, which were precoated with fibronectin for 24 h, allowing them to adhere and form a monolayer
Summary
Hemodynamic forces play an essential role in maintaining vascular function and contribute to the development and progression of cardiovascular diseases (Hahn and Schwartz, 2009). The effect of shear stress on endothelial cells has been extensively studied using microfluidic technologies. Such devices allow for generating customized physiological and pathophysiological flow conditions in miniaturized structures (Mohammed et al, 2019; Tovar-Lopez et al, 2019; Nguyen et al, 2021). The effect of cyclic stretch on vascular smooth muscle cells (Mann et al, 2012; Yan et al, 2020) and fibroblasts (Sniadecki et al, 2007; Kamble et al, 2017; Kamble et al, 2018) has been widely investigated using flow-free cell stretch systems. The effect of cyclic stretch on endothelial cells has not been studied in detail (Estrada et al, 2011; Jufri et al, 2015)
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