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Date of Graduation

5-2026

Description

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a promising treatment option for a variety of diseases due to their ability to migrate to far-off sites, modulate inflammatory immune responses, secrete factors that aid in tissue healing, and their capacity to become several cell types. These cells can be found and isolated from various body tissues including bone marrow and adipose tissue, even so the number of cells obtained from these tissues is minimal compared to the amounts needed for their transplantation in cell therapy treatments. Therefore, their culture in plastic dishes is required to increase the number of cells and obtain the amount necessary for effective treatments. However, during this process, their quality decreases as they are less capable of becoming other cell types and secreting factors that aid in tissue healing. Moreover, their proliferation time increases, decreasing cell production efficiency. This study aims to investigate the effects of mechanical stimulation during the MSC culture process, hypothesizing that it reverses the changes in cell quality produced by culturing over time. In this study, mechanical stimulation was applied to MSCs daily for the duration of the culture. Then, cell size was measured through microscopic imaging to monitor morphological changes over time. While their ability to proliferate and form colonies was measured through a colony-forming unit assay and by cell counting at multiple timepoints. Additionally, cells were stained with SA-β-gal staining to count the number of cells that became senescent (non-functional), and Alizarin Red staining was used to assess bone differentiation. The results indicate that, with mechanical stimulation, MSCs have an enhanced ability to retain colony formation over time compared to the cells that did not receive mechanical stimulation. Furthermore, the group that did not receive daily mechanical stimulation showed a significant increase in size over time, while the cells treated with mechanical stimulation mostly conserved their size. No difference was observed in the growth rates of the treated and non-treated groups. Differentiation and SA-β-gal staining results will be discussed. The findings of this project could improve efficiency and quality of cell therapy without requiring invasive methods.

Publication Date

2026

Document Type

Book

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Biomedical Engineering

Advisor/Mentor

Samsonraj, Rebekah

Disciplines

Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering

Keywords

Engineering, Medical

Testing the Effects of Mechanical Stimulation on Mesenchymal Stem Cell Cultures

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