Analyzing Shear Stress-induced Alignment of Actin Filaments in Endothelial Cells with a Microfluidic Assay

Overview

Journal Biomicrofluidics

Publisher American Institute of Physics

Specialty Biomedical Engineering

Date 2010 Jul 21

PMID 20644662

Citations 36

Authors

A D van der Meer

A A Poot

J Feijen

I Vermes

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The physiology of vascular endothelial cells is strongly affected by fluid shear stress on their surface. In this study, a microfluidic assay was employed to analyze the alignment of actin filaments in endothelial cells in response to shear stress. When cells were cultured in microfluidic channels and subjected to shear stress, the alignment of filaments in the channel direction was significantly higher than in static cultures. By adding inhibitory drugs, the roles of several signaling proteins in the process of alignment were determined. Thus, it is shown how microfluidic technology can be employed to provide a mechanistic insight into cell physiology.

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