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 >

Kun Fan^1,2, Xiaofu Qiu², Yu Fu², Kangjian Lin, Huanhui Li², Guosheng Yang ^*,1,2

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.14, No.1, pp. 33-45, 2017, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2017.014.035

Abstract This study intends to investigate the role of amentoflavone(AF) in human clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and to elucidate underlying molecular mechanisms. Materials and Methods: Human RCC cell lines Caki-1 and 786-O were used in this study. Cell proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle distribution and invasion assays were conducted to analyze the effect of AF against ccRCC in vitro. Xenograft model and pulmonary metastasis animal model were established to evaluate the vivo therapeutic efficacy and against pulmonary metastasis ability of AF, respectively. Results: Our findings revealed that AF selectively suppressed tumor cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Treatment with… More >

Zhen Liu¹, Yan Cai¹, Guo-Zhong Chen², Guang-Ming Lu, Zhi-Yong Li^1,3,*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.14, No.1, pp. 19-31, 2017, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2017.014.019

Abstract Background: Intracranial aneurysm (IA) can be commonly found in the circle of Willis (CoW), and a higher morbidity of IA is found to be associated with a higher percentage of an incomplete CoW. Hemodynamic factors are believed to play an important role in aneurysm formation. However, how the anatomical variations in CoW lead to hemodynamic difference and what hemodynamic parameters play important roles in aneurysm formation have not been quantified and assessed. Methods and Results: Thirty patients were included and based one computed tomography angiography, they were divided into three groups (10 patients per group): a normal group (normal CoW… More >

Abhishek M. Thote^1,*, Rashmi V. Uddanwadiker¹, Krishna Sharma², Sunita Shrivastava²

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.14, No.1, pp. 1-17, 2017, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2017.014.001

Abstract The objective of this study was to devise an optimum force system to achieve en-masse retraction of six maxillary anterior teeth in lingual orthodontics (LiO). First, the set of equations was developed based on the mathematical computation to estimate optimum parameters of force system. Then, the computer software based on this mathematical computation was developed for the ease of estimation of force system. The verification of force system obtained with computer software was accomplished by three-dimensional finite element analysis (FEA). In FEA, it was clear that the desired en-masse retraction of six maxillary anterior teeth in LiO was achieved as… More >

Mingzhi Luo^1,2, Peili Yu¹, Yang Jin³, Zhili Qian¹, Yue Wang¹, Jingjing Li¹, Peng Shang^2*, Linhong Deng^1*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.13, No.2, pp. 137-157, 2016, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2016.013.155

Abstract Random positioning machine (RPM) and diamagnetic levitation are two essential ground-based methods used to stimulate the effect of microgravity in space life science research. However, the force fields generated by these two methods are fundamentally different, as RPM generates a dynamic force field acting on the surface in contact with supporting substrate, whereas diamagnetic levitation generates a static force field acting on the whole body volume of the object (e.g. cell). Surprisingly, it is hardly studied whether these two fundamentally different force fields would cause different responses in mammalian cells. Thus we exposed cultured MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts to either dynamically stimulated… More >

Pranav S. Sapkal^1*, Abhaykumar M. Kuthe¹, Divya Ganapathy², Shantanu C. Mathankar³, Sudhanshu Kuthe⁴

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.13, No.2, pp. 115-136, 2016, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2016.013.131

Abstract Biphasic calcium phosphate scaffolds with 20/80 HA/TCP ratio were fabricated using the 3D-Bioplotting system to heal critical size defects in rabbit tibia bone. Four different architectures were printed in a layer by layer fashion with lay down patterns viz. (a) 0°– 90°, (b) 0°– 45°– 90°– 135°, (c) 0°–108°– 216° and (d) 0°– 60°– 120°. After high-temperature sintering scaffolds were coated with collagen and were further characterized by (FTIR) Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, (SEM) Scanning Electron Microscopy, (XRD) X-Ray diffraction, Porosity analysis and Mechanical testing. Scaffold samples were tested for its ability to induce cytotoxicity in Balb/c 3T3 cells at… More >