Engineering solutions for biological studies of flow-exposed endothelial cells on orbital shakers v1

Author(s):  
Andreia Fernandes ◽  
Vahid Hosseini ◽  
Viola Vogel ◽  
Robert Lovchik

Shear stress is extremely important for endothelial cell (EC) function. The popularity of 6-well plates on orbital shakers to impose shear stress on ECs has increased among biologists due to their low cost and simplicity. One characteristic of such a platform is the heterogeneous flow profile within a well. While cells in the periphery are exposed to a laminar and high-velocity pulsatile flow that mimics physiological conditions, the flow in the center is disturbed and imposes low shear stress on the cells, which is characteristic of atheroprone regions. For studies where such heterogeneity is not desired, we present a simple cell-patterning technique to selectively prevent cell growth in the center of the well and facilitate the exclusive collection and analysis of cells in the periphery. This guarantees that cell phenotypes will not be influenced by secreted factors from cells exposed to other shear profiles nor that interesting results may be obscured by mixing cells from different regions. We also present a multi-staining platform that compartmentalizes each well into 5 smaller independent regions: four at the periphery and one in the center. This is ideal for studies that aim to grow cells on the whole well surface, for comparison with previous work and minimal interference in the cell culture, but require screening of markers by immunostaining afterwards. It allows to compare different regions of the well, reduces antibody-related costs, and allows the exploration of multiple markers essential for high-content screening of cell response. By increasing the versatility of the 6-well plate on an orbital shaker system, we hope that these two solutions motivate biologists to pursue studies on EC mechanobiology and beyond.

2021 ◽  
Vol 545 ◽  
pp. 20-26
Author(s):  
AFang Li ◽  
LiLan Tan ◽  
ShuLei Zhang ◽  
Jun Tao ◽  
Zuo Wang ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Alina G. van der Giessen ◽  
Jolanda J. Wentzel ◽  
Frans N. van de Vosse ◽  
Antonius F. van der Steen ◽  
Pim J. de Feyter ◽  
...  

It is generally accepted that early atherosclerosis develops in low shear-stress (SS) regions such as the outer wall of arterial bifurcations and the inner bend of curved vessels (1). However, in clinical practice, it is common to observe atherosclerotic plaques at the flow-divider, or carina, of coronary bifurcations (2). Plaques at the carina are more frequently found in symptomatic patients, and may represent a more advanced stage of atherosclerosis. The carina is located in a region which is exposed to high SS. We hypothesize that if plaques are located in atheroprotective high SS regions, they have grown circumferentially from the atherogenic low SS regions.


2008 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. S18-S19
Author(s):  
Dang Heng Wei ◽  
Gui Xue Wang ◽  
Yi Ping Xia ◽  
Jian Jun Lei ◽  
Lu Shang Liu ◽  
...  

PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. e0120586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei-dong Qin ◽  
Shao-hua Mi ◽  
Chen Li ◽  
Gui-xia Wang ◽  
Jian-ning Zhang ◽  
...  

2008 ◽  
Vol 144 (2) ◽  
pp. 409-410
Author(s):  
Lisa R.P. Spiguel ◽  
Amito Chandiwal ◽  
Ralph R. Weichselbaum ◽  
Christopher L. Skelly

2019 ◽  
Vol 245 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lan Jia ◽  
Lihua Wang ◽  
Fang Wei ◽  
Chen Li ◽  
Zhe Wang ◽  
...  

Hemodynamic forces have an important role in venous intimal hyperplasia, which is the main cause of arteriovenous fistula dysfunction. Endothelial cells (ECs) constantly exposed to the shear stress of blood flow, converted the mechanical stimuli into intracellular signals, and interacted with the underlying vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Caveolin-1 is one of the important mechanoreceptors on cytomembrane, which is related to vascular abnormalities. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase1/2 (ERK1/2) pathway is involved in the process of VSMCs proliferation and migration. In the present study, we explore the effects of Caveolin-1-ERK1/2 pathway and uremia toxins on the endothelial cells and VSMCs following shear stress application. Different shear stress was simulated with a ECs/VSMCs cocultured parallel-plate flow chamber system. Low shear stress and oscillating shear stress up-regulated the expression of fibroblast growth factor-4, platelet-derived growth factor-BB, vascular endothelial growth factor-A, ERK1/2 phosphorylation in endothelial cells, and proliferation and migration of VSMCs but down-regulated the Caveolin-1 expression in endothelial cells. Uremia toxin induces the proliferation and migration of VSMCs but not in a Caveolin-1-dependent manner in the static environment. Low shear stress-induced proliferation and migration of VSMCs is inhibited by Caveolin-1 overexpression and ERK1/2 suppression. Shear stress-regulated VSMC proliferation and migration is an endothelial cells-dependent process. Low shear stress and oscillating shear stress exert atherosclerotic influences on endothelial cells and VSMCs. Low shear stress modulated proliferation and migration of VSMCs through Caveolin-1-ERK1/2 pathway, which suggested that Caveolin-1 and ERK1/2 can be used as a new therapeutic target for the treatment of arteriovenous fistula dysfunction. Impact statement Venous intimal hyperplasia is the leading cause of arteriovenous fistula (AVF) dysfunction. This article reports that shear stress-regulated vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) proliferation and migration is an endothelial cell (EC)-dependent process. Low shear stress (LSS) and oscillating shear stress (OSS) exert atherosclerotic influences on the ECs and VSMCs. LSS-induced proliferation and migration of VSMCs is inhibited by Caveolin-1 overexpression and extracellular signal-regulated kinase1/2 (ERK1/2) suppression, which suggested that Caveolin-1 and ERK1/2 can be used as a new therapeutic target for the treatment of AVF dysfunction.


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