Date of Graduation
5-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Biomedical Engineering
Advisor/Mentor
Samsonraj, Rebekah
Abstract
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are adult stem cells that have been examined to have tremendous potential in cell therapies due to their ability for self-renewal, multilineage differentiation, and immunomodulation. Additionally, MSCs are mechanosensitive cells, and studies have shown that mechanical signals can bias MSCs toward osteogenic differentiation. MSCs have been utilized in many different bone regeneration applications, since MSCs play a critical role in the bone healing process as these cells are precursors to osteoblasts and chondrocytes. However, one major concern in cellular therapies is achieving homogenous cellular samples displaying optimal phenotypic characteristics and optimal potency for bone regenerative applications. Increased osteogenic capacity is critical for these applications. We investigated delivery of non-invasive mechanical stimulation (MS) to MSCs to prime MSCs to attain an osteogenic phenotype eliminating the need for extraneous growth factors, supplementation, or genetic manipulation. Bone Marrow MSCs were cultured and subjected to MS for varying periods of time. We assessed cell proliferation, cell viability, in vitro mineralization, gene expression of key osteogenic markers, and protein expression of several mechanotransduction proteins. Our results show that MS does not alter MSC proliferation/viability. Increase in bone mineralization was observed in Osteo+MS treatment groups along with gene expression in majority of key genes. Furthermore, Western Blotting showed increased expression of Fascin and FAK proteins in MS treatment groups, and we observed significant decrease in EZH2 expression in the Osteo+MS group. Together, our studies highlight MS as a potential alternative and synergist to increasing osteogenic potency for bone regenerative applications.
Keywords
mesenchymal stem cells, osteogenic differentiation, mechanotransduction, mechanosensitivity, mechanical signals
Citation
Patel, N. H. (2023). Effects of Mechanosensitivity In Regulating Phenotypic Characteristics of Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells. Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/bmeguht/142