Analysis of temporal shear stress gradients during the onset phase of flow over a backward-facing step

Endothelial cells in blood vessels are exposed to bloodflow and thus fluid shear stress. In arterial bifurcations and stenoses, disturbed flow causes zones of recirculation and stagnation, which are associated with both spatial and temporal gradients of shear stress. Such gradients have been linked to the generation of atherosclerotic plaques. For in-vitro studies of endothelial cell responses, the sudden-expansion flow chamber has been widely used and described. A two-dimensional numerical simulation of the onset phase of flow through the chamber was performed. The wall shear stress action on the bottom plate was computed as a function of time and distance from the sudden expansion. The results showed that depending on the time for the flow to be established, significant temporal gradients occurred close to the second stagnation point of flow. Slowly ramping the flow over 15 s instead of 200 ms reduces the temporal gradients by a factor of 300, while spatial gradients are reduced by 23 percent. Thus, the effects of spatial and temporal gradients can be observed separately. In experiments on endothelial cells, disturbed flow stimulated cell proliferation only when flow onset was sudden. The spatial patterns of proliferation rate match the exposure to temporal gradients. This study provides information on the dynamics of spatial and temporal gradients to which the cells are exposed in a sudden-expansion flow chamber and relates them to changes in the onset phase of flow.     

Analysis of cell flux in the parallel plate flow chamber: implications for cell capture studies.

The parallel plate flow chamber provides a controlled environment for determinations of the shear stress at which cells in suspension can bind to endothelial cell monolayers. By decreasing the flow rate of cell-containing media over the monolayer and assessing the number of cells bound at each wall shear stress, the relationship between shear force and binding efficiency can be determined. The rate of binding should depend on the delivery of cells to the surface as well as the intrinsic cell-surface interactions; thus, only if the cell flux to the surface is known can the resulting binding curves be interpreted correctly. We present the development and validation of a mathematical model based on the sedimentation rate and velocity profile in the chamber for the delivery of cells from a flowing suspension to the chamber surface. Our results show that the flux depends on the bulk cell concentration, the distance from the entrance point, and the flow rate of the cell-containing medium. The model was then used in a normalization procedure for experiments in which T cells attach to TNF-alpha-stimulated HUVEC monolayers, showing that a threshold for adhesion occurs at a shear stress of about 3 dyn/cm2.     

Integral Heating Device for the Rose Culture Chamber

The culture chamber consists of two metal plates held together by four short screws, a thin (film-type) electrical heating unit, a silicone rubber gasket and two cover slips. The order of assembly is bottom plate, heating element, first cover slip, gasket, second cover slip, and top plate. Syringe needles, one containing a thermistor, and others for supply and removal of fluid are inserted into the chamber through the gasket. Temperature is controlled by electrical connections through a Thermistemp temperature controller.     

The effect of flow on the interaction of isolated megakaryocytes with subendothelial extracellular matrix.

We have previously shown that human, guinea pig, or rat megakaryocytes, incubated under static conditions on an extracellular matrix (ECM) produced by endothelial cells, readily adhered to the matrix and underwent platelet-like shape change and thromboxane A2 secretion. We have now exposed megakaryocytes to ECM in a perfusion system similar to that used to study platelets circulated over aortic subendothelium. We used a continuous flow circuit incorporating a parallel plate perfusion chamber. Megakaryocytes were isolated to high purity from guinea pig marrow by centrifugal elutriation and velocity sedimentation. The cells were introduced into the flowing medium while the surface of an ECM-coated coverslip mounted in the chamber was observed continuously by phase-contrast video microscopy for up to 18 hours. Megakaryocytes from the flowing suspension started to adhere to the ECM within seconds. Significant adhesion occurred over a range of shear rates, from 10 to 190 seconds-1, did not appear above 300 seconds-1 and was greatest at a shear rate of 60 seconds-1. Adhesion to the ECM was specific, since there was no adherence to glass coverslips, glutaraldehyde-fixed ECM-coated coverslips, or to endothelial cells cultured on ECM-coated coverslips. At low shear rates large aggregates of megakaryocytes formed on the ECM surface; these could be detached and washed away by higher shear forces. Megakaryocytes thus acquire, even before platelet formation, an adhesive capacity similar to that of platelets. In addition, a significant fraction of the adherent megakaryocytes underwent elongation and pseudopod formation similar to that seen in marrow sinusoids.     

The elongation and orientation of cultured endothelial cells in response to shear stress

Vascular endothelial cells appear to be aligned with the flow in the immediate vicinity of the arterial wall and have a shape which is more ellipsoidal in regions of high shear and more polygonal in regions of low shear stress. In order to study quantitatively the nature of this response, bovine aortic endothelial cells grown on Thermanox plastic coverslips were exposed to shear stress levels of 10, 30, and 85 dynes/cm2 for periods up to 24 hr using a parallel plate flow chamber. A computer-based analysis system was used to quantify the degree of cell elongation with respect to the change in cell angle of orientation and with time. The results show that (i) endothelial cells orient with the flow direction under the influence of shear stress, (ii) the time required for cell alignment with flow direction is somewhat longer than that required for cell elongation, (iii) there is a strong correlation between the degree of alignment and endothelial cell shape, and (iv) endothelial cells become more elongated when exposed to higher shear stresses.     

Study of local hydrodynamic environment in cell-substrate adhesion using side-view μPIV technology

Tumor cell adhesion to the endothelium under shear flow conditions is a critical step that results in circulation-mediated tumor metastasis. This study presents experimental and computational techniques for studying the local hydrodynamic environment around adherent cells and how local shear conditions affect cell-cell interactions on the endothelium in tumor cell adhesion. To study the local hydrodynamic profile around heterotypic adherent cells, a side-view flow chamber assay coupled with micro particle imaging velocimetry (μPIV) technique was developed, where interactions between leukocytes and tumor cells in the near-endothelial wall region and the local shear flow environment were characterized. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were also used to obtain quantitative flow properties around those adherent cells. Results showed that cell dimension and relative cell-cell positions had strong influence on local shear rates. The velocity profile above leukocytes and tumor cells displayed very different patterns. Larger cell deformations led to less disturbance to the flow. Local shear rates above smaller cells were observed to be more affected by relative positions between two cells.     

Shear stress modulates tumour cell adhesion to the endothelium

The adhesion of breast adenocarcinoma cells (MDA-MB-231) to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) was studied in whole blood and under varying flow conditions. This study was done on HUVEC either kept under static conditions or pre-conditioned in flow for 2 hours at a shear stress of 5 or 13 dyn/cm(2). Coverslips coated by HUVEC were placed in a parallel plate perfusion chamber and perfused at a shear rate of 300 or 1500 sec(-1) with heparin-anticoagulated blood containing 111In labelled MDA-MB-231 cells. We report here the optimal conditions for studying the adhesion of MDA-MB-231 to endothelial cells under shear constraints corresponding to those observed into small and medium sized arteries.     

Trophoblast migration under flow is regulated by endothelial cells

During pregnancy, trophoblasts enter the uterine vasculature and are found in spiral arteries far upstream of uterine capillaries. It is unknown whether trophoblasts reach the spiral arteries by migration within blood vessels against blood flow or by intravasation directly into spiral arteries after interstitial migration. We have developed an in vitro system consisting of early gestation macaque monkey trophoblasts cocultured with uterine endothelial cells and have exposed the cells in a parallel plate flow chamber to physiological levels of shear stress. Videomicroscopy followed by quantitative image analysis revealed that the migratory activity (expressed as average displacement and average migration velocity) of trophoblasts cultured on top of endothelial cells remained unchanged between shear stresses of 1-30 dyne/cm(2) whereas activity of trophoblasts alone increased with increasing shear stress. When the direction of migration was assessed at 1 and 7.5 dyne/cm(2), the extent of migration against and with flow was roughly equal for both trophoblasts alone and cocultured trophoblasts. At shear stress levels of 15 and 30 dyne/cm(2), trophoblasts incubated alone showed a significant decrease in migration against flow and corresponding increased migration in the direction of flow. In contrast, trophoblasts cocultured with uterine endothelial cells maintained the same extent of migration against flow at all shear stress levels. Migration against flow was also maintained when trophoblasts were cultured with endothelial cell-conditioned medium or fixed endothelial cells. The results indicate that factors expressed on the surface of uterine endothelial cells and factors released by endothelial regulate trophoblast migration under flow.     

On tight junction structure: Forssman glycolipid does not flow between MDCK cells in an intact epithelial monolayer

One model of tight junction structure suggests that lipids might flow from cell to cell within shared exoplasmic membrane leaflets. We tested this proposal by co-culturing two clones of MDCK epithelial cells, which differed in their content of Forssman glycolipid, and then staining by immunofluorescence with rabbit anti-Forssman Ig. In co-cultures grown on glass cover slips and on nitrocellulose filters, positive Forssman staining was restricted to sharply demarcated clusters of cells formed by the Forssman-positive clone. Integrity of tight junctions between the two clones was indicated on cover slips by the presence of individual domes (hemicysts) composed of both clones and on filters by the generation of transepithelial potential differences. These results suggest that glycolipids in the exoplasmic leaflet of cells in a tight epithelium do not flow to adjacent cells.     

Modeling of shear stress experienced by endothelial cells cultured on microstructured polymer substrates in a parallel plate flow chamber

The application of physical stimuli to cell populations in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine may facilitate significant scientific and clinical advances. However, for the most part, these stimuli are evaluated in isolation, rather than in combination. This study was designed to combine two physical stimuli. The first being a microstructured tissue culture polystyrene substrate, known to produce changes in cell shape and orientation, and the second being laminar shear stress in a parallel plate flow chamber. The combined effects of these stimuli on endothelial cell monolayers cells were evaluated in a parallel plate flow chamber and using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. The topography of the cell monolayers cultured on different microstructured surfaces was determined using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and this topographic information was used to construct the CFD model. This research found that while the specific underlying structures were effectively planarized by the cell monolayer, significant differences in cell shape and orientation were observed on the different microstructured surfaces. Cells cultured on grooved substrates aligned in the direction of the grooves and showed higher retention after 1-h LSS conditioning than those cultured on pillars. The modeled shear stress distributions also showed differences. While minor differences in the magnitude of shear stress were noted, aligned cell monolayers experienced significantly lower spatial gradients of shear stress when compared with cells that were not pre-aligned by surface features. The results presented here provide an analysis of how one form of physical stimulus can be moderated by another and also provide a methodology by which the understanding of cell responses to topographic and mechanical stimuli can be further advanced.     

突然扩张流槽中血管内皮细胞表面粘附蛋白表达的研究

动脉粥样硬化的非随机分布与当地的血流动力环境有关,为了研究复杂的流体动力学条件对血和皮细胞生理功能的影响,构建了平行板式平直流槽和突然扩张流槽,通过数值模拟分析了流型的特征,并探讨流型改变对人脐静脉血管内皮细胞表面粘附蛋白表达的影响,发现突然扩张流槽中流动的空间变化使得总体细胞表面粘附蛋白ICAM－1的表达显著高于平直流槽中的均匀定常剪切作用,表明局部流动空间变化的性质可以影响血管内皮细胞的功能。     

Vascular smooth muscle cell glycocalyx influences shear stress-mediated contractile response.

This study addressed the influence of the rate of shear stress application on aortic smooth muscle cell (SMC) contraction and the role of specific glycosaminoglycans in this mechanotransduction. Rat aortic SMCs were exposed to either a step increase in shear stress (0 to 25 dyn/cm(2)) or a ramp increase in shear stress (0 to 25 dyn/cm(2) over 5 min) in a parallel plate flow chamber, and cell contraction was characterized by cell area reduction. SMCs contracted at levels similar to those reported previously and equally in response to both a step and ramp increase in shear stress. When the cells were pretreated with heparinase III or chondroitinase ABC to remove the glycosaminoglycans heparan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate, respectively, from the glycocalyx, the contraction response to increases in shear stress was significantly inhibited. These studies indicate that specific components of the SMC glycocalyx play an important role in the mechanotransduction of shear stress into a contractile response and that the rate of application of shear stress does not affect the SMC contraction.     

The biased lamellipodium development and microtubule organizing center position in vascular endothelial cells migrating under the influence of fluid flow*

Summary— To analytically study the morphological responses of vascular endothelial cells (ECs) to fluid flow, we designed a parallel plate flow culture chamber in which cells were cultured under fluid shear stress ranging from 0.01 to 2.0 Pa for several days. Via a viewing window of the chamber, EC responses to known levels of fluid shear stress were monitored either by direct observations or by a video-enhanced time-lapse microscopy. Among the responses of cultured ECs to flow, morphological responses take from hours to days to be fully expressed, except for the fluid shear stress-dependent motility pattern change we reported earlier which could be detected within 30 min of flow changes. We report here that ECs exposed to more than 1.0 Pa of fluid shear shear stress have developed lamellipodia in the direction of flow in 10 min. This is the fastest structurally identifiable EC response to fluid shear stress. This was a reversible response. When the flow was stopped or reduced to the level which exerted less than 0.1 Pa of fluid shear stress, the biased lamellipodium development was lost within several minutes. The microtubule organizing center was located posterior to the nucleus in ECs under the influence of flow. However, this position was established only in ECs responding to fluid shear stress for longer than 1 h, indicating that positioning of the microtubule organizing center was not the reason for, but rather the result of, the biased lamellipodium response. Colcemid-treated ECs responded normally to flow, indicating that microtubules were not involved in both flow sensing and the flow-induced, biased lamellipodium development.     

Double-decker chemotaxis: no evidence for photonic stimulation of directed locomotion by human blood polymorphonuclear leukocytes

The study was carried out under direct videomicroscopic control to ascertain whether electromagnetic forces (photons) can initiate directed cell motility of human polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN). Cell suspensions containing a mixture of randomly motile white blood cells and erythrocytes (red cells) were placed in a double-decked preparation created by a glass slide and two cover slips and sealed by paraffin. Erythrocytes in the upper or lower chamber were destroyed by a single burst from a narrow ruby laser beam. Directed locomotion of PMN toward the erythrocyte debris occurred exclusively in the chamber in which the erythrocytes had been destroyed. Only random PMN locomotion was observed in the adjacent chamber. The results indicate that in this experimental model, electromagnetic forces do not initiate directed locomotion.     

Cell adhesion in a dynamic flow system as compared to static system. Glycosphingolipid-glycosphingolipid interaction in the dynamic system predominates over lectin- or integrin-based mechanisms in adhesion of B16 melanoma cells to non-activated endothelial cells.

Initial adhesion of B16 melanoma variants to non-activated endothelial cells is mediated through specific interaction between GM3 (NeuAc alpha 2----3Gal beta 1----4Glc beta 1----Cer) expressed on melanoma cells and lactosylceramide (LacCer, Gal beta 1----4Glc beta 1----Cer) expressed on endothelial cells. This adhesion is predominant over integrin- or lectin-mediated adhesion in a dynamic flow experimental system employing a parallel plate laminar flow chamber (Lawrence, M. B., Smith, C. W., Eskin, S. G., and McIntire, L. V. (1990) Blood 75, 227-237). In this system, a tumor cell suspension flows over a glass plate coated with glycosphingolipid, lectin, or fibronectin, and adhesion is recorded on videotape. These conditions were designed to mimic the microvascular environment in which tumor metastatic deposition takes place. In contrast, lectin- and fibronectin-based mechanisms are predominant in previously used static adhesion systems. Under static conditions, the relative degree of adhesion of the four B16 variants to endothelial cells or to LacCer-coated plates was the same as their relative degree of GM3 expression (i.e. BL6 approximately F10 greater than F1 greater than WA4), and adhesion was inhibited in the presence of methyl-beta-lactoside, or liposomes containing LacCer or GM3. Adhesion was also inhibited by pretreatment of B16 cells with anti-GM3 antibody DH2 or sialidase and by pretreatment of endothelial cells with anti-LacCer antibody T5A7. Under dynamic flow conditions, WA4 cells did not adhere to mouse endothelial cells at high shear stress (greater than 2.5 dynes/cm2) but did adhere at lower shear stress. In contrast, BL6 and F10 cells adhered strongly at both low and high shear stress. BL6 cell adhesion to endothelial cells at both low and high shear stress was inhibited in the presence of antibody DH2, ethyl-beta-lactoside, or lactose, as well as by pretreatment of BL6 cells with sialidase. Thus, some clear differences, as well as similarities, in cell adhesion under static versus dynamic conditions are demonstrated. These findings suggest that melanoma cell adhesion to endothelial cells, based on GM3/LacCer interaction, initiates metastatic deposition, which may trigger a series of "cascade" reactions leading to activation of endothelial cells and expression of Ig family or selectin receptors, thereby promoting adhesion and migration of tumor cells.     

T型分叉流槽中前列环素和内皮素分泌的研究

动脉粥样硬化（atherosclerosis）的非随机分布与当地的血流动力环境有关。借助平行平板式平直流槽和以T型分叉流槽为代表的平行平板式异型流槽,可以模拟血管的主要形状特征,首先,在数值模拟的基础上分析了流型特征参数,确定了流槽的设计尺寸。然后,通过实验研究,探讨流型改变对内皮细胞血管活性物质分泌的影响,发现扩张效应流线偏转和驻点效应使得异型流槽前列环素和内皮素的分泌水平与相同入口雷诺数（Re）条件下的平直流槽分别有降低趋势和显著差异。为进一步研究流型对血管内皮细胞的影响提供了实验数据。     

体外流动剪切力作用下的白细胞-内皮细胞动态粘附

建立一个用于体外研究特定流动剪切力作用下白细胞和内皮细胞动态相互作用的方法。利用建立的平板流动小室系统可在体外产生特定的流动剪切力。将培养的人脐静脉内皮细胞装入平板流动小室后 ,以 0 .71dynes/cm2 的流动剪切力把含有吖啶橙染色的白细胞的灌流液导入流动小室 ,由此产生了白细胞和内皮细胞的动态粘附过程。整个粘附过程通过OlympusIX70倒置荧光显微系统观察 ,同时通过CCD摄象头录像。然后用图象采集卡将录像采集为数字图象并保存。利用针对实验设计的图象处理和分析方法 ,对采集的数字图象进行处理和测量 ,可以得到粘附白细胞的个数和滚动白细胞的速度。通过研究内毒素脂多糖 (LPS)对内皮细胞粘附功能的促进及地塞米松 (DXM )对该刺激的抑制作用来验证。对于用内毒素脂多糖 (LPS)处理的内皮细胞 ,固定粘附和慢速滚动的白细胞的个数比对照组分别显著增加了 2 3.7倍和 4 .1倍 ,同时白细胞在粘附作用过程中慢速滚动和快速滚动的速度比对照组明显降低了 2 5 .6 %和 2 6 .1%。而对于脂多糖和地塞米松 (DXM)处理过的内皮细胞 ,上述内毒素引起的影响被显著抑制了。该方法可以用于研究不同的化学和物理刺激对内皮细胞功能的影响机制 ,及用来评价各类抑制内皮细胞粘附功能的药物。     

Parallel-plate flow chamber for studies of 3D flow-endothelium interaction

Flow induced shear stress influences vascular cellular biology and pathophysiology in numerous ways. Previous in vitro studies on interactions between flow and endothelial cells using parallel-plate flow chambers involve two-dimensional flows, whereas flows in larger vessels are commonly three-dimensional. We have constructed a parallel plate flow chamber with a backward facing step aligned oblique to the axis of the chamber. Flow visualisation by steady injection of ink through a hypodermic tube reveals swirling flow in the recirculation region downstream of the step. At given angles of the step, theta; (to the axis of the chamber), the pitch of the swirl and the width of the separation region, as measured in the direction perpendicular to the step, increase with the Reynolds number (Re). On the other hand, at given values of Re, reduction of theta; results in increases in the swirl pitch but decreases in the width of the separation zone. Furthermore, clearance time of ink from the separation region is shorter with an oblique step than a perpendicular one at given Re. Computer simulation confirms the 3D swirling flow created by the oblique step and provides detailed distribution of wall shear stresses in the flow chamber.     

Analysis of a high‐throughput cone‐and‐plate apparatus for the application of defined spatiotemporal flow to cultured cells

The shear stresses derived from blood flow regulate many aspects of vascular and immunobiology. In vitro studies on the shear stress‐mediated mechanobiology of endothelial cells have been carried out using systems analogous to the cone‐and‐plate viscometer in which a rotating, low‐angle cone applies fluid shear stress to cells grown on an underlying, flat culture surface. We recently developed a device that could perform high‐throughput studies on shear‐mediated mechanobiology through the rotation of cone‐tipped shafts in a standard 96‐well culture plate. Here, we present a model of the three‐dimensional flow within the culture wells with a rotating, cone‐tipped shaft. Using this model we examined the effects of modifying the design parameters of the system to allow the device to create a variety of flow profiles. We first examined the case of steady‐state flow with the shaft rotating at constant angular velocity. By varying the angular velocity and distance of the cone from the underlying plate we were able to create flow profiles with controlled shear stress gradients in the radial direction within the plate. These findings indicate that both linear and non‐linear spatial distributions in shear stress can be created across the bottom of the culture plate. In the transition and “parallel shaft” regions of the system, the angular velocities needed to provide high levels of physiological shear stress (5 Pa) created intermediate Reynolds number Taylor‐Couette flow. In some cases, this led to the development of a flow regime in which stable helical vortices were created within the well. We also examined the system under oscillatory and pulsatile motion of the shaft and demonstrated minimal time lag between the rotation of the cone and the shear stress on the cell culture surface. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2013; 110: 1782–1793. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The role of physical forces on cytotoxic T cell-target cell conjugate stability

Theoretical considerations suggest that external forces play a significant role in cell-cell conjugate formation and may lead to the misinterpretation of adhesion data. To test this, the stability of conjugates formed between CTL and fibroblast target cells (TC) was examined in the controlled shear environment of a parallel plate flow chamber. Murine fibroblast targets expressing class I maternally transmitted Ag Mtaa or Mtab were grown on a glass slide that formed one wall of the flow chamber and were used in conjunction with anti-Mtaa and anti-Mtab specific mouse CTL clones to establish a panel of Ag-reciprocal targets and lymphocytes. Although cytolysis assays indicated that lymphocytes recognized and destroyed appropriate but not inappropriate targets, the stability of some CTL/TC conjugates was Ag independent. In all cases, the conjugate stability was shear dependent over a 100-fold range (0.04 to 4.0 dynes/cm2). For some clones, the ratio of the stabilities of Ag-specific CTL/TC conjugates to nonspecific conjugates was significantly enhanced with increasing shear. This implies that the role of Ag specificity in CTL/TC adhesion may be misinterpreted if the shear environment of CTL/TC conjugates is unknown or uncontrolled. Kinetic analysis revealed that conjugate stability was dependent on the exposure time to external forces and that there existed two populations of conjugates; weak associations that disengaged within the first 30 s of flow, and strong associations that remained attached even after a 5-min exposure to a steady shear stress. The stability of Ag-specific CTL/TC conjugates at 0.04 dynes/cm2 was enhanced by 50% as the temperature was increased from 25 to 37 degrees C, whereas the stability of nonspecific CTL/TC associations was not affected. This result indicates that significant Ag-specific strengthening may occur at physiologic temperatures. This work suggests the importance of attention to role of fluid mechanical shear stress in standard adhesion assays.