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Mechanical Signaling in the Urinary Bladder
Published in Jiro Nagatomi, Eno Essien Ebong, Mechanobiology Handbook, 2018
Aruna Ramachandran, Ramaswamy Krishnan, Rosalyn M. Adam
Mechanotransduction is broadly defined as the process whereby physical forces are converted to biochemical signals within cells. Smooth muscle achieves its contractile function through the concerted shortening of single cells arranged in bundles or sheets. The coordinated activity is achieved through the functional coupling of cells via gap junctions. A diverse range of techniques has been employed to interrogate the process of mechanotransduction in bladder smooth muscle in vitro, ranging from analysis of single cells, as in patch clamp and traction force microscopy approaches to studies of the intact bladder in live organisms. In the following section, we describe in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo approaches that have been applied to the investigation of mechanical signaling in bladder and other types of smooth muscle, and the types of information obtained from each. The advantages and limitations of different techniques are considered.
Applications of Magnetic Nanoparticles in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
Published in Jon Dobson, Carlos Rinaldi, Nanomagnetic Actuation in Biomedicine, 2018
James R. Henstock, Hareklea Markides, Hu Bin, Alicia J. El Haj, Jon Dobson
Mechanotransduction is the conversion of mechanical stimuli into biochemical signals, allowing cells to sense their surrounding physical environment and react to it appropriately (Storch et al., 2012). Mechanotransduction plays an important role in cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, and apoptosis—processes that are all necessary for tissue development, homeostasis, and healing (for further details, see review by Mammoto and Ingber, 2010). During both development and remodeling, cells are subjected to various forms of mechanical stimulation, which shapes and regulates a large array of physiological processes. For example, bone formation and remodeling are regulated by fluid flow and compressive loading; the vascular system is influenced by pressure and shear stresses caused by the pumping of blood; the sensory neural system receives pressure inputs that are converted into biochemical and then electrical signals for hearing and touch (Papachroni et al., 2009).
Structure and Function of Cartilage
Published in Kyriacos A. Athanasiou, Eric M. Darling, Grayson D. DuRaine, Jerry C. Hu, A. Hari Reddi, Articular Cartilage, 2017
Kyriacos A. Athanasiou, Eric M. Darling, Grayson D. DuRaine, Jerry C. Hu, A. Hari Reddi
Mechanotransduction is the process by which cells convert physical forces into biochemical signals. Classically, one of the earliest descriptions of mechanotransduction is the work of Julius Wolff during the nineteenth century, in which he proposed the eponymous law, which states that bone remodeling results from the physical forces applied to the bone. Specifically, sites of increased loading will have more bone deposited, while sites of disuse will resorb bone during remodeling. This would later be refined as the mechanostat by Frost in the 1960s, reviewed elsewhere (Frost 2000). Articular cartilage may also follow Wolff’s law, with anatomical regions of increased loading exhibiting thicker cartilage (Shepherd and Seedhom 1999).
Investigating orthodontic tooth movement: challenges and future directions
Published in Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 2020
Fiona A. Firth, Rachel Farrar, Mauro Farella
Cells sense mechanical strain and relay the mechanical stimulus to other cells via the process of mechanotransduction. Integrins are well-suited to be mechanotransducers because they are mechanoreceptors that are linked to the cytoskeleton. Integrin receptors are thought to bind to extracellular matrix (ECM) ligands, transmitting signals across the cell membrane. Regulation of cellular functions is achieved via this sequence of events, as well as by the recruitment of kinase enzymes, which also assist in the regulation of protein activity by phosphorylation (Wang and Thampatty 2006). It has been proposed that bone cells, particularly osteocytes, play an essential role during this phase as mechanosensors (Tan et al. 2006; Henneman et al. 2008; Krishnan and Davidovitch 2009). Osteocytes are connected via a 3D network of cell processes, through which interstitial fluid flows in response to bone loading (Burger and Klein-Nulend 1999).
The analogies between human development and additive manufacture: Expanding the definition of design
Published in Cogent Engineering, 2019
L. E. J. Thomas-Seale, J. C. Kirkman-Brown, S. Kanagalingam, M. M. Attallah, D. M. Espino, D. E. T. Shepherd
Mechanotransduction during foetal development is utilised to explore this concept in more depth. Mechanotransduction is defined as the impact of forces on the biochemical interactions of molecules inside and outside the living cell (Ingber, 2006a); it is analogous to temporally varying stimuli acting on a responsive medium. Mechanical forces as stimuli in the human body, affect the growth of almost every tissue and organ (Wang, Tytell, & Ingber, 2009) and mechanotransduction is integral to the development of the foetus. As such, it presents a reoccurring theme in this research. In embryogenesis, cells are influenced by mechanical stress in two ways, through the environment and the presence of other cells (Wozniak & Chen, 2009). The foetal heart develops from a rhythmically contracting tube to the driving organ for transporting blood through the developing vasculature, and demonstrates a stiffness which changes daily (Majkut, Dingal, & Discher, 2014; Majkut et al., 2013). The cardiovascular system demonstrates a complex feedback loop which is responsive to its own mechanical stimulus as it varies over time. Whilst there is substantial evidence to suggest that it is the endothelium that senses and discriminates between and responds differently to different types of hemodynamic forces, the translation of this phenomenon to the physiological changes remains unclear (Garcia-Cardena & Slegtenhorst, 2016). Whilst the process at one scale, the cellular level, is well explained, the translation of the phenomena through to morphogenesis at the macro scale, i.e. the organ, is not.
Pneumatic piston hydrostatic bioreactor for cartilage tissue engineering
Published in Instrumentation Science & Technology, 2023
J. Hallas, A. J. Janvier, K. F. Hoettges, J. R. Henstock
Mechanical forces deriving from exercise are an essential stimulus for maintaining biological homeostasis in functional joint cartilage, whilst aberrant mechanical loading plays a role in degenerative conditions such as osteoarthritis.[1,2] The musculoskeletal system is composed of cells and tissues that are force responsive, and physical loading of bone, cartilage, muscle, and tendon results in adaptation of the tissue for increased resilience.[3] Stronger osteochondral tissues are formed in response to environmental demands due to an increase in cell activity that produces extracellular matrix molecules such as collagenous proteins and glycosaminoglycans.[4,5] In combination with other cues, including systemic (endocrine) and local biochemical signaling (e.g., growth factors and cytokines), mechanical forces play an important role in enabling the cell to sense its environment. Mechanical forces acting on a cell are converted into changes in intracellular signaling pathways by mechanotransduction events, including mechanosensitive ion channel activation, integrin-mediated signaling between the extracellular matrix and the cytoskeleton, and an array of other mechanically-linked processes. This connection between mechanical stimuli and changes in cell response is of interest to a range of disciplines including in biomedical tissue engineering strategies to create replacement graft tissues formed from hydrogel-encapsulated cells cultured in dynamic growth environments. [6–9]