Blood flow mechanotransduction in vascular endothelial cells

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26242043
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Biomedical engineering/Biomaterial science and engineering
• Research Institution: Dokkyo Medical University
• Principal Investigator: Ando Joji 獨協医科大学, 医学部, 特任教授 (20159528)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 山本 希美子 東京大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 講師 (00323618)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 血流 / 血管内皮細胞 / shear stress / 伸展張力 / 細胞膜 / 膜脂質相 / 膜流動性 / メカノトランスダクション

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study was undertaken to elucidate how the hemodynamic forces stretch and shear stress affect the physical properties of a vascular endothelial cell (EC) plasma membrane and whether plasma membranes can sense and differentiate between stretch and shear stress. The results demonstrated that EC plasma membranes show different responses to stretch and shear stress by rapidly changing their lipid order and fluidity in opposite directions. Artificial lipid bilayer membranes showed mechanoresponses that were similar to those of ECs, indicating that this is a physical phenomenon rather than a biological reaction. Furthermore, these changes in physical properties of the EC plasma membrane contribute to the mechanotransduction that activates membrane receptors specific to each force. Plasma membranes appear to have an intrinsic mechanoresponsive property and that this property seems to enable them to act as a mechanosensor that is capable of differentiating between stretch and shear stress.

Free Research Field

総合領域