Bo Ling^1,#, Daoxi Lei^1,#, Juhui Qiu¹, Kang Zhang¹, Hao Chen^2,*, Yeqi Wang¹, Zhiyi Ye¹, Guixue Wang^*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.14, No.4, pp. 197-211, 2017, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2017.014.197

Abstract Shear stress and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) caused by abnormal blood is critical to angiogenesis for atherosclerosis. However, the mechanism in shear stress or ox-LDL regulated angiogenesis is still not well understood. There is the hypothesis that shear stress or oxLDL regulates angiogenesis through the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling pathway. It is discovered that both high shear stress and low concentration of oxLDL contribute to angiogenesis, which is inhibited once the VEGF or VEGFR expression is knocked down. The expression of p-FAK and p-paxillin is regulated by the VEGF/VEGFR signal axis. VEGFR2, p-FAK, p-paxillin and VEGFR1 are VEGF-responsive… More >

Baogang Tian¹, Yang Shao¹, Zhijiong Wang¹, Jian Li^2,*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.14, No.3, pp. 187-194, 2017, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2017.014.187

Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore the clinical efficacy and safety of posterior pedicle screw fixation in the treatment of thoracolumbar burst fracture. A total of 120 patients with thoracolumbar burst fractures were selected from January 2014 to December 2016. 60 patients were divided into the study group, and 60 patients were as the control group. The patients in the study group were treated with posterior pedicle screw fixation. The control group was treated with posterior non-traumatic pedicle screw fixation. After treatment, there were six months follow up. The clinical indexes, complications, and the anterior aspect height ratio,… More >

XiangXie^1,a, Deng Liu^1,a, Daoxi Lei¹, Yongfei Liu¹, Qi Wang¹, Zaien Wen¹, Juhui Qiu¹, Dongyu Jia^1,2, Hans Gregersen¹, Guixue Wang^1,*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.14, No.3, pp. 171-186, 2017, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2017.014.171

Abstract Research in microgravity is of utmost importance for disclosing the impact of gravity on biological processes and organisms. With the development of space technology, scientists pay more attention to cardiovascular diseases associated with microgravity. However, up to date only sparse data exist on microgravity and cardiovascular development mechanisms. In this study, zebrafish was chosen as the model organism. Zebrafish embryos were exposed to microgravity using a ground-based simulation microgravity (SM) bioreactor. The effects of SM on the development of early embryonic vascular system were studied in vivo in real-time. Zebrafish embryos were selected and divided into two groups at 12… More >

Ruikai Chen¹, Delphine Dean^1,*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.14, No.3, pp. 153-169, 2017, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2017.014.153

Abstract Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) play an important role in regulating blood flow and pressure by contracting and relaxing in response to a variety of mechanical stimuli. A fully differentiated and functional VSMC should have both the ability to contract and relax in response to environmental stimuli. In addition, it should have the proper mechanical properties to sustain the mechanically active vascular environment. Stem cells can differentiate towards VSMC lineages and so could be used as a potential treatment for vascular repair. However, few studies have assessed the time it takes for stems cells to acquire similar mechanical property to… More >

Dalin Tang^1,*,2, Heng Zuo^2,*, Chun Yang², Zheyang Wu², Xueying Huang³, Rahul H. Rathod⁴, Alexander Tang⁴, Kristen L. Billiar⁵, Tal Geva⁴

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.14, No.3, pp. 137-151, 2017, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2017.014.137

Abstract Patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) account for the majority of cases with late onset right ventricle failure. Comparing TOF patients with healthy people may provide information to address this challenge. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) data were obtained from 16 TOF patients (patient group, PG) and 6 healthy volunteers (healthy group, HG). At begin-of-ejection, better patient group (n=5, BPG) stress was very close to HG stress (54.7±38.4 kPa vs. 51.2±55.7 kPa, p=0.6889) while worse patient group (n=11, WPG) stress was 84% higher than HG stress (p=0.0418). Stress may be used as an indicator to differentiate BPG patients from WPG… More >

Pranav S. Sapkal^1,*, Abhaykumar M. Kuthe¹, Shantanu Mathankar², Akash A. Deshmukh

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.14, No.2, pp. 125-136, 2017, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2017.014.123

Abstract β-TCP-Zirconia scaffolds with different architectures were fabricated by means of 3D-Bioplotting in order to enhance the mechanical and in-vitro ability of the scaffold to heal large size bone defects. In the present study scaffold architecture with different strand orientations (0°-90°, 0°-45°-135°-180°, 0°-108°-216° and 0°-72°-144°-36°-108°) were fabricated, characterized and evaluated for mechanical strength and cell proliferation ability. β-TCP powder (25 µm) and PVA (Polyvinyl Alcohol) was acquired from Fisher Scientific, India. Zirconia (18 to 32 µm) was procured from Lobachemie, India. In brief 7.5%, PVA in distilled water was used as a binder and was mixed with 10 grams of (70/30)… More >

Kefeng Liu^{1,2, §}, Zhengyu Zhang^{1,3, §}, Ting Pei¹, Ziqing Li⁴, Jingjing Wang¹, Hong Wang¹, Suning Ping¹, Lie Deng¹, Linli Wang¹, Jintao Huang⁵, Puyi Sheng⁴, Shuying Liu¹, Chaohong Li¹

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.14, No.2, pp. 101-123, 2017, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2017.014.099

Abstract This study was designed to investigate the effects of mechanical (MS) and/or oxidized low-density lipoprotein on proliferation and apoptosis of RAW264.7 macrophages and the underlying mechanisms. The cultured quiescent RAW264.7 macrophages were subject to stimulation with MS and/or in the presence or absence of simvastatin and then harvested for Western blot, and immunoflourecence. Either MS or alone could cause increase in cell proliferation and apoptosis, while their combination led to an additive effect. In terms of mechanisms, MS and/or significantly increased phosphorylation levels of MAPKs (ERKs, JNKs and p38MAPK), promoted the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and up-regulated DNA methylation in… More >

Yidan Chen^#,1, Kang Zhang^#,1, Juhui Qiu¹, Shicheng He¹, Junyang Huang², Lu Huang¹, Dongyu Jia³, Bo Ling¹, Da Sun⁴, Xiang Xie¹, Tieying Yin^*,1, Guixue Wang^*,1

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.14, No.2, pp. 83-100, 2017, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2017.014.081

Abstract Abnormal shear stress in the blood vessel is an important stimulating factor for the formation of angiogenesis and vulnerable plaques. This paper intended to explore the role of shear stress-regulated Id1 in angiogenesis. First, we applied a carotid artery ring ligation to create local stenosis in ApoE^-/- mice. Then, 3D geometry of the vessel network was reconstructed based on MRI, and our analysis of computational fluid dynamics revealed that wall shear stress of the proximal region was much higher than that of the distal region. In addition, results from histological staining of the proximal region found more vulnerable-probe plaques with… More >

Yan Cai^1,1, Zhiyong Li^1,2,*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.14, No.2, pp. 59-81, 2017, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2017.014.057

Abstract To investigate the dynamic changes of solid tumor and neo-vasculature in response to chemotherapeutic agent, we proposed a multi-discipline three-dimensional mathematical model by coupling tumor growth, angiogenesis, vessel remodelling, microcirculation and drug delivery. The tumor growth is described by the cell automaton model, in which three cell phenotypes (proliferating cell, quiescent cell and necrotic cell) are assumed to reflect the dynamics of tumor progress. A 3D tree-like architecture network with different orders for vessel diameter is generated as pre-existing vasculature in host tissue. The chemical substances including oxygen, vascular endothelial growth factor, extra-cellular matrix and matrix degradation enzymes are calculated… More >

Gaiping Zhao¹, Feiyi Xia¹, Eryun Chen², Xiaoli Yu³, Zhaozhi Yang^3,*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.14, No.1, pp. 47-57, 2017, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2017.014.049

Abstract Metastatic tumor blood perfusion and interstitial fluid transport based on 3D microvasculature response to inhibitory effect of angiostatin are investigated in this paper. 3D blood flow、interstitial fluid transport and transvascular flow are described by the extended Poiseuille’s, Darcy’s and Starling’s law, respectively. Numerical solutions reveal that angiostatin can promote improved blood perfusion and decrease elevated interstitial fluid pressure within the metastatic tumor microenvironment. Moreover, angiostatin can increase interstitial convection within the tumor and result in more efficient drug delivery and penetration within the metastatic tumor, which suits well with the experimental observations. Together, our results may provide therapeutic implications for… More >