Hai Ngu*, Lan Lu*, Sara J. Oswald*, Sarah Davis*, Sumona Nag*, Frank C-P Yin†
Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.5, No.1, pp. 69-82, 2008, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2008.005.069
Abstract Endothelial cells subjected to cyclic stretching change orientation so as to be aligned perpendicular to the direction of applied strain in a magnitude and time-dependent manner. Although this type of response is not the same as motility, it could be governed by motility-related factors such as substratum adhesiveness and actin-myosin contractile level. To examine this possibility, human aortic endothelial cells (HAEC) were uniaxially, cyclically stretched on silicone rubber membranes coated with various concentrations of fibronectin, collagen type IV and laminin to produce differing amounts of adhesiveness (measured using a radial flow detachment assay). Cells were… More >