Stem Cell Cytoskeletal Responses to Pulsatile Flow in Heart Valve Tissue Engineering Studies.

摘要: Heart valve replacement options remain exceedingly limited for pediatric patients because they cannot accommodate somatic growth. To overcome this shortcoming, heart tissue engineering using human bone marrow stem cells (HBMSCs) has been considered a potential solution to the treatment of critical congenital valvular defects. The mechanical environments during in vitro culture are key regulators progenitor cell fate. Here, we report on alterations HBMSCs, specifically their actin cytoskeleton and nucleus under fluid-induced shear stresses relevance valves. HBMSCs were seeded microfluidic channels exposed following conditions: pulsatile stress (PSS), steady (SS), no flow controls (n = 4/group). Changes filament structure monitored subsequent gene expression was evaluated. A significant increase (p 0.05). Of particular valvulogenesis, klf2a, development, significantly expressed only by PSS group < We conclude that respond distinct from SS conditions. These changes coupled with findings suggest at cellular level, immediate effect is initiate unique set quantifiable cytoskeletal events (increased number, density angle, but decrease length) cells, which could be useful fine-tuning protocols engineering.