Abstract
Mechanical properties of living endothelial cells in the abdominal aortas and in the medial and lateral wall of aortic bifurcations obtained from rabbits were determined by means of an atomic force microscope (AFM), focusing on the locational differences. Force (F)-indentation (δ) curves of the cells were expressed by an exponential function: F=a(exp(bδ)−1), where a and b are constants. The parameters b and c(=ab) represent the rate of modulus change and initial modulus, respectively. The slope of F-δ curves a and the parameter c were higher in the medial wall than in the other sites, which is attributable to abundant stress fibres in endothelial cells in the medial wall. There were no differences in the parameter b among the three locations. These results indicate that endothelial cells are stiffer in the medial wall of aortic bifurcation than in the other regions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barbee, K. A., Davies, P. F. andLal, R. (1994): ‘Shear stress-induced reorganization of the surface topography of living endothelial cells imaged by atomic force microscopy’,Circ. Res.,74, pp. 163–171
Barbee, K. A., Mundel, T., Lal, R. andDavies, P. F. (1995): ‘Subcellular distribution of shear stress at the surface of flow-aligned and nonaligned endothelial monolayers’,Am. J. Physiol.,268, pp. H1765-H1772
Berceli, S. A., Warty, V. S., Sheppeck, R. A., Mandarino, W. A., Tanksale, S. K. andBorovetz, H. S. (1990): ‘Hemodynamics and low density lipoprotein metabolism: rates of low density lipoprotein incorporation and degradation along medial and lateral walls of the rabbit aorto-iliac bifurcation’,Arteriosclerosis,10, pp. 688–694
Caille, N., Tardy, Y. andMeister, J.-J. (1997): ‘Nucleus deformation of endothelial cells subjected to uniaxial deformation of their substrate’,Proceedings, 3rd International Conference on Cellular Engineering p. 51
Davies, P. F., Mundel, T. andBarbee, K. A. (1995): ‘A mechanism for heterogeneous endothelial responses to flow in vivo and in vitro’,J. Biomech.,28, pp. 1553–1560
Flaherty, J. T., Pierce, J. E., Ferrans, V. J., Patel, D. J., Tucker, W.K. andFry, D.L. (1972): ‘Endothelial nuclear patterns in the canine arterial tree with particular reference to hemodynamic events’,Circ. Res.,30, pp. 23–33
Franke, R.-P., Gräfe, M., Schnittler, H., Seiffge, D. andMittermayer, C. (1984): ‘Induction of human vascular endothelial stress fibers by fluid shear stress’,Nature,307, pp. 648–649
Goldmann, W. H. andEzzell, R. M. (1996): ‘Viscoelasticity in wild-type and vinculin-deficient (5.51) mouse F9 embryonic carcinoma cells examined by atomic force microscopy and rheology’,Exp. Cell Res.,226, pp. C234-C237
Hansma, H. G. andHoh, J. H. (1994): ‘Biomolecular imaging with the atomic force microscope’,Ann. Rev. Biophys. Biomol. Struct.,23, pp. 115–139
Hayashi, K. (1993): ‘Experimental approaches on measuring the mechanical properties and constitutive laws of arterial walls’,Trans. ASME, J. Biomech. Eng.,115, pp. 481–488
Hayashi, K., Yanai, Y. andNaiki, T. (1996): ‘A 3D-LDA study of the relation between wall shear stress and intimal thickness in a human aortic bifurcation’,Trans. ASME. J. Biomech. Eng.,118, pp. 273–279
Hoh, J. H. andSchoenenberger, C. A. (1994): ‘Surface morphology and mechanical properties of MDCK monolayers by atomic force microscopy’,J. Cell Sci.,107, pp. 1105–1114
Humphrey, J. D. (1995): ‘Mechanics of the arterial wall: review and directions’,Critical Rev. Biomed. Eng.,23, pp. 1–162
Katoh, K., Masuda, M., Kano, Y., Jinguji, Y. andFujiwara, K. (1995): ‘Focal adhesion proteins associated with apical stress fibers of human fibroblasts’,Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton,103, pp. 63–70
Kim, D. W., Langille, B. L., Wong, M. K. K. andGotlieb, A. I. (1989a): ‘Patterns of endothelial microfilament distribution in the rabbit aorta in situ’,Circ. Res.,64, pp. 21–31
Kim, D. W., Gotlieb, A. I. andLangille, B. L. (1989b): ‘In vivo modulation of endothelial F-actin microfilaments by experimental alterations in shear stress’,Arteriosclerosis,9, pp. 439–445
Lal, R. andJohn, S. A. (1994): ‘Biological applications of atomic force microscopy’,Am. J. Physiol.,266, pp. C1-C21
Levesque, M. J., Liepsch, D., Moravec, S. andNerem, R. M. (1986): ‘Correlation of endothelial cell shape and wall shear stress in a stenosed dog aorta’,Arteriosclerosis,6, pp. 220–229
Nerem, R. M. (1992): ‘Vascular fluid mechanics, the arterial wall, and atherosclerosis’,Trans. ASME. J. Biomech. Eng.,114, pp. 274–282
Okano, M. andYoshida, Y. (1992): ‘Endothelial cell morphology of atherosclerotic lesions and flow profiles at aortic bifurcations in cholesterol fed rabbits’,Trans. ASME. J. Biomech. Eng.,114, pp. 301–308
Ookawa, K., Sato, M. andOhshima, N. (1992): ‘Changes in the microstructure of cultured porcine aortic endothelial cells in the early stage after applying a fluid-imposed shear stress’,J. Biomech.,25, pp. 1321–1328
Ookawa, K., Sato, M. andOhshima, N. (1993): ‘Morphological changes of endothelial cells after exposure to fluid-imposed shear stress: differential responses induced by extracellular matrices’,Biorheology,30, pp. 131–140
Osborn, M., Born, T., Koitsch, H.-J, andWeber, K. (1978): ‘Stereo immunofluorescence microscopy: I. Three-dimensional arrangement of microfilaments, microtubles and tonofilaments’,Cell,14, pp. 477–488
Reidy, M. A. andLangille, B. L. (1980): ‘The effect of local blood flow patterns on endothelial cell morphology’,Exp. Molecul. Pathol.,32, pp. 276–289
Ricci, D., Tedesco, M. andGrattarola, M. (1997): ‘Mechanical and morphological properties of living 3T6 cells probed via scanning force microscopy’,Microsc. Res. Tech.,36, pp. 165–171
Sato, M., Levesque, M. J. andNerem, R. M. (1987): ‘Micropipette aspiration of cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells exposed to shear stress’,Arteriosclerosis,7, pp. 276–286
Sato, M. andOhshima, N. (1994): ‘Flow-induced changes in shape and cytoskeletal structure of vascular endothelial cells’,Biorheology,31, pp. 143–153
Sato, M., Ohshima, N. andNerem, R. M. (1996): ‘Viscoelastic properties of cultured porcine aortic endothelial cells exposed to shear stress’,J. Biomech.,29, pp. 461–467
Shroff, S. G., Saner, D. R. andLal, R. (1995): ‘Dynamic micromechanical properties of vultured rat atrial myocytes measured by atomic force microscopy’,Am. J. Physiol.,269, pp. C286-C292
Satcher, R., Dewey, C. F., Jr. andHartwig, J. H., (1997): ‘Mechanical remodeling of the endothelial surface and actin cytoskeleton induced by fluid flow’,Microcirculation,4, pp. 439-C453
Uematsu, M., Kitabatake, A., Tanouchi, J., Doi, Y., Masuyama, T., Fujii, K., Yoshida, Y., Ito, H., Ishihara, K., Hori, M., Inoue, M. andKamada, T. (1991): ‘Reduction of endothelial microfilament bundles in the low-shear region of the vanine sorta: association with intimal plaque formation in hypercholesterolemia’,Arterioscler. Thromb.,11, pp. 107–115
Weisenhorn, A. L., Khorsandi, M., Kasas, S., Gotzos, V. andButt, H. J. (1993): ‘Deformation and height anomaly of soft surfaces studied with an AFM’,Nanotech.,4, pp. 106–113
White, G. E. andFujiwara, K. (1986): ‘Expression and intracellular distribution of stress fibers in aortic endothelium’,J. Cell Biol.,103, pp. 63–70
Wong, A. J., Pollard, T. D. andHerman, I. M. (1983): ‘Actin filament stress fibers in vascular endothelial cells in vivo’,Science,219, pp. 867–869
Yoshida, Y., Sue, W., Okano, M., Oyama, T., Yamane, T. andMitsumata, M. (1990): ‘The effects of augmented hemodynamic forces on the progression and topography of atherosclerotic plaques’,Ann. NY Acad. Sci.,598, pp. 256–273
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Miyazaki, H., Hayashi, K. Atomic force microscopic measurement of the mechanical properties of intact endothelial cells in fresh arteries. Med. Biol. Eng. Comput. 37, 530–536 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02513342
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02513342