Studying the Mechanobiology of Aortic Endothelial Cells Under Cyclic Stretch Using a Modular 3D Printed System

Sergio Aguilera Suarez; Nadia Chandra Sekar; Ngan Nguyen; Austin Lai; Peter Thurgood; Ying Zhou; Scott Needham; Elena Pirogova; Khashayar Khoshmanesh; Sara Baratchi

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2021.791116

Studying the Mechanobiology of Aortic Endothelial Cells Under Cyclic Stretch Using a Modular 3D Printed System

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2021 Dec 9:9:791116. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.791116. eCollection 2021.

Affiliations

¹ School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
² School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
³ Leading Technology Group, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

Abstract

Here, we describe a motorized cam-driven system for the cyclic stretch of aortic endothelial cells. Our modular design allows for generating customized spatiotemporal stretch profiles by varying the profile and size of 3D printed cam and follower elements. The system is controllable, compact, inexpensive, and amenable for parallelization and long-term experiments. Experiments using human aortic endothelial cells show significant changes in the cytoskeletal structure and morphology of cells following exposure to 5 and 10% cyclic stretch over 9 and 16 h. The system provides upportunities for exploring the complex molecular and cellular processes governing the response of mechanosensitive cells under cyclic stretch.

Keywords: 3D printing; biomechanics; cyclic stretch; endothelial; mechanobiology; mechanotransduction.