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Review
. 2016 Feb 13:7:2041731415618342.
doi: 10.1177/2041731415618342. eCollection 2016 Jan-Dec.

Impact of mechanical stretch on the cell behaviors of bone and surrounding tissues

Hye-Sun Yu  1 , Jung-Ju Kim  2 , Hae-Won Kim  3 , Mark P Lewis  4 , Ivan Wall  5
Affiliations
Review

Impact of mechanical stretch on the cell behaviors of bone and surrounding tissues

Hye-Sun Yu et al. J Tissue Eng. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Mechanical loading is recognized to play an important role in regulating the behaviors of cells in bone and surrounding tissues in vivo. Many in vitro studies have been conducted to determine the effects of mechanical loading on individual cell types of the tissues. In this review, we focus specifically on the use of the Flexercell system as a tool for studying cellular responses to mechanical stretch. We assess the literature describing the impact of mechanical stretch on different cell types from bone, muscle, tendon, ligament, and cartilage, describing individual cell phenotype responses. In addition, we review evidence regarding the mechanotransduction pathways that are activated to potentiate these phenotype responses in different cell populations.

Keywords: Flexercell; bone; cartilage; ligament; mechanical strain; muscle; tendon.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Experimental setup of the Flexercell system for applying strain to cell populations. (a) Schematic representation of the computer-controlled Flexercell system that applies strain to cell monolayers in custom-made six-well plates. (b) Cross-sectional diagram of one well of a six-well Flexercell plate at rest (top) and upon application of the vacuum (bottom). (c) Strain can be applied in a variety of ways including uniaxial and equiaxial.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
A series of processes from MPCs to differentiated myotubes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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