Mechanical properties of vascular smooth muscle cells

conference paper

English

Mechanical properties of vascular smooth muscle cells are closely related to their physiological function within the arterial wall (blood pressure regulation, arterial remodelling, healing and growth. Mechanical stimuli represent a very important factor influencing cellular processes and functions. The knowledge about mechanical properties of cells is necessary for understanding how cells response to mechanical stress and strain. A lot of experiments are carried out with the aim to determine mechanical properties of cells (tensile test, compression test, micropipette aspiration test, indentation test). A 3D finite element model of adherent cell for computational simulation of indentation test is presented in this paper. Our model considers all significant structural cellular components, i.e. actin cortex, deep cytoskeleton, cytoplasma and nucleus. The geometry model is based on experimental observations of a spreading fibroblast. Actin cortex was modelled as a thin membrane meshed with 4-node shell elements, cytoplasma and nucleus was modelled as linear isotropic homogeneous continuum, meshed with 8-node hexahedral solid elements and deep cytoskeleton was created as a six-struts tensegrity structure, consisting of six compression struts and twenty four tension cables, representing microtubules and microfilaments, respectively. It follows from the results that the FE model we introduced here can be used for computational simulation of indentation test. The force-displacement curve obtained from computational simulation is similar to the experimentally measured curve using atomic force microscopy.

Vascular smooth muscle cell, actin cortex, deep cytoskeleton, indentation test, tensegrity, atomic force microscopy, microfilament, microtubulus.

LEBIŠ, R.

2005

1. 3. 2005

VUT Brno

Hrotovice

80-214-2373-0

Proceedings of the 7th International Scientific Conference Applied Mechanics 2005

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65

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