Journal
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-HEART AND CIRCULATORY PHYSIOLOGY
Volume 279, Issue 6, Pages H3124-H3130Publisher
AMER PHYSIOLOGICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.2000.279.6.H3124
Keywords
mechanical cell stimulator; fibroblasts; integrins
Funding
- NHLBI NIH HHS [HL-37669, HL-58893, HL-42249] Funding Source: Medline
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In vitro mechanical cell stimulators are used for the study of the effect of mechanical stimulation on anchorage-dependent cells. We developed a new mechanical cell stimulator, which uses stepper motor technology and computer control to achieve a high degree of accuracy and repeatability. This device also uses high-performance plastic components that have been shown to be noncytotoxic, dimensionally stable, and resistant to chemical degradation from common culture laboratory chemicals. We show that treatment with glow discharge for 25 s at 20 mA is sufficient to modify the surface of the rubber to allow proper adhesion for polymerization of aligned collagen. We show through finite element analysis that the middle area of the membrane, away from the clamped ends, is predictable, homogeneous, and has negligible shear strain. To test the efficacy of the mechanical stretch, we examined the effect of mechanical stimulation on the production of beta (1)-integrin by neonatal rat cardiac fibroblasts. Mechanical stimulation was tested in the range of 0-12% stretch and 0-10-cycles/min stretch frequency. The fibroblasts respond with an increase in beta (1)-integrin at 3% stretch and a decrease at 6 and 12% stretch. Stretch frequency was found to not significantly effect the concentration of beta (1)-integrin. These studies yield a new and improved mechanical cell stimulator and demonstrate that mechanical stimulation has an effect on the expression of beta (1)-integrin.
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