Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics Research Group

Papers in Scientific Journals

Effects of hypergravity on the angiogenic potential of endothelial cells

Abstract

Angiogenesis, the formation of blood vessels from pre-existing ones, is a key event in pathology, including cancer progression, but also in homeostasis and regeneration. As the phenotype of endothelial cells (ECs) is continuously regulated by local biomechanical forces, studying endothelial behaviour in altered gravity might contribute to new insights towards angiogenesis modu- lation. This study aimed at characterizing EC behaviour after hypergravity exposure (more than 1g), with special focus on cytoskeleton architecture and capillary-like structure formation. Herein, human umbilical vein ECs (HUVECs) were cultured under two-dimensional and three-dimensional conditions at 3g and 10g for 4 and 16 h inside the large diameter centrifuge at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) of the European Space Agency. Although no significant tendency regarding cyto- skeleton organization was observed for cells exposed to high g’s, a slight loss of the perinuclear localization of b-tubulin was observed for cells exposed to 3g with less pronounced peripheral bodies of actin when compared with 1g control cells. Additionally, hypergravity exposure decreased the assembly of HUVECs into capillary-like structures, with a 10g level significantly reducing their organization capacity. In conclusion, short-term hypergravity seems to affect EC phenotype and their angiogenic potential in a time and g-level-dependent manner. 

Journal
Journal Of The Royal Society Interface
Volume
13
Publisher
Royal Society
ISSN
1742-5662
URL
http://rsif.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/13/124/20160688
Keywords
altered gravity, capillary-like structures, Cytoskeleton, hypergravity pre-stimulation, three-dimensional matrigel
Rights
Restricted Access
Peer Reviewed
Yes
Status
published
Year of Publication
2016
DOI
10.1098/rsif.2016.0688
Date Published
2016-11-09
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