Stimulation of angiogenesis through collagen gel by applying shear stress and interstitial flow

The induction of angiogenesis has been documented in many diseases such as cancer, arthritis, and diabetes. Angiogenesis can be stimulated by a variety of signals including a mechanical stress applied to the apical side of endothelial cells. To get a better understanding of this mechanical stimulus, a parallel plate flow chamber was designed and tested to elicit a constant laminar flow onto a monolayer of endothelial cells. The goal of this research was to develop a more physiologically similar in vitro system to study the effects of shear stress on endothelial cells. Unlike prior flow chamber apparatus, this chamber allows the cells to be seeded on collagen gel rather than a rigid substrate to more closely mimic in vivo environment. A shear stress of I Pa was applied to the endothelial cells for a duration of 36 hours. Results show that after flow was initiated for this duration, a change in shape of the endothelial cells can be seen when compared to the static condition. Elongation and alignment of cells plated on collagen gel can be seen in the direction of flow, though not at pronounced as the elongation typically seen from cells plated on rigid substrates. Nuclear and F-actin staining also revealed similar results.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Ranka, Mitun P

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Roger Kamm.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/32930

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/32930