A microfluidic system for studying the effects of disturbed flow on endothelial cells

Francisco Tovar-Lopez; Peter Thurgood; Christopher Gilliam; Ngan Nguyen; Elena Pirogova; Khashayar Khoshmanesh; Sara Baratchi

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2019.00081

A microfluidic system for studying the effects of disturbed flow on endothelial cells

Francisco Tovar-Lopez, Peter Thurgood, Christopher Gilliam, Ngan Nguyen, Elena Pirogova, Khashayar Khoshmanesh, Sara Baratchi^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

31 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Arterial endothelium experience physical stress associated with blood flow and play a central role in maintaining vascular integrity and homeostasis in response to hemodynamic forces. Blood flow within vessels is generally laminar and streamlined. However, abrupt changes in the vessel geometry due to branching, sharp turns or stenosis can disturb the laminar blood flow, causing secondary flows in the form of vortices. Such disturbed flow patterns activate pro-inflammatory phenotypes in endothelial cells, damaging the endothelial layer and can lead to atherosclerosis and thrombosis. Here, we report a microfluidic system with integrated ridge-shaped obstacles for generating controllable disturbed flow patterns. This system is used to study the effect of disturbed flow on the cytoskeleton remodeling and nuclear shape and size of cultured human aortic endothelial cells. Our results demonstrate that the generated disturbed flow changes the orientation angle of actin stress fibers and reduces the nuclear size while increases the nuclear circularity.

Original language	English
Article number	81
Journal	Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology
Volume	7
Issue number	APR
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2019.00081
Publication status	Published - 2019

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors wish to acknowledge RMIT's MicroNano Research Facility (MNRF) for fabrication of microfluidic devices. SB acknowledges the Australian Research Council for Discovery for Early Career Researchers Award (DE170100239). EP acknowledges the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council for funding The Australian Center for Electromagnetic Bioeffects Research (NHMRC CRE APP1135076). KK acknowledges the Australian Research Council for Discovery Grant (DP180102049).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Tovar-Lopez, Thurgood, Gilliam, Nguyen, Pirogova, Khoshmanesh and Baratchi.

Keywords

Actin stress fiber
Disturbed flow
Endothelial cells (EC)
Microfluidics
Shear stress

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Biotechnology
Bioengineering
Histology
Biomedical Engineering

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10.3389/fbioe.2019.00081

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abstract = "Arterial endothelium experience physical stress associated with blood flow and play a central role in maintaining vascular integrity and homeostasis in response to hemodynamic forces. Blood flow within vessels is generally laminar and streamlined. However, abrupt changes in the vessel geometry due to branching, sharp turns or stenosis can disturb the laminar blood flow, causing secondary flows in the form of vortices. Such disturbed flow patterns activate pro-inflammatory phenotypes in endothelial cells, damaging the endothelial layer and can lead to atherosclerosis and thrombosis. Here, we report a microfluidic system with integrated ridge-shaped obstacles for generating controllable disturbed flow patterns. This system is used to study the effect of disturbed flow on the cytoskeleton remodeling and nuclear shape and size of cultured human aortic endothelial cells. Our results demonstrate that the generated disturbed flow changes the orientation angle of actin stress fibers and reduces the nuclear size while increases the nuclear circularity.",

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AU - Khoshmanesh, Khashayar

AU - Baratchi, Sara

N1 - Funding Information: The authors wish to acknowledge RMIT's MicroNano Research Facility (MNRF) for fabrication of microfluidic devices. SB acknowledges the Australian Research Council for Discovery for Early Career Researchers Award (DE170100239). EP acknowledges the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council for funding The Australian Center for Electromagnetic Bioeffects Research (NHMRC CRE APP1135076). KK acknowledges the Australian Research Council for Discovery Grant (DP180102049). Publisher Copyright: © 2019 Tovar-Lopez, Thurgood, Gilliam, Nguyen, Pirogova, Khoshmanesh and Baratchi.

PY - 2019

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N2 - Arterial endothelium experience physical stress associated with blood flow and play a central role in maintaining vascular integrity and homeostasis in response to hemodynamic forces. Blood flow within vessels is generally laminar and streamlined. However, abrupt changes in the vessel geometry due to branching, sharp turns or stenosis can disturb the laminar blood flow, causing secondary flows in the form of vortices. Such disturbed flow patterns activate pro-inflammatory phenotypes in endothelial cells, damaging the endothelial layer and can lead to atherosclerosis and thrombosis. Here, we report a microfluidic system with integrated ridge-shaped obstacles for generating controllable disturbed flow patterns. This system is used to study the effect of disturbed flow on the cytoskeleton remodeling and nuclear shape and size of cultured human aortic endothelial cells. Our results demonstrate that the generated disturbed flow changes the orientation angle of actin stress fibers and reduces the nuclear size while increases the nuclear circularity.

AB - Arterial endothelium experience physical stress associated with blood flow and play a central role in maintaining vascular integrity and homeostasis in response to hemodynamic forces. Blood flow within vessels is generally laminar and streamlined. However, abrupt changes in the vessel geometry due to branching, sharp turns or stenosis can disturb the laminar blood flow, causing secondary flows in the form of vortices. Such disturbed flow patterns activate pro-inflammatory phenotypes in endothelial cells, damaging the endothelial layer and can lead to atherosclerosis and thrombosis. Here, we report a microfluidic system with integrated ridge-shaped obstacles for generating controllable disturbed flow patterns. This system is used to study the effect of disturbed flow on the cytoskeleton remodeling and nuclear shape and size of cultured human aortic endothelial cells. Our results demonstrate that the generated disturbed flow changes the orientation angle of actin stress fibers and reduces the nuclear size while increases the nuclear circularity.

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A microfluidic system for studying the effects of disturbed flow on endothelial cells

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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