HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free All Versions of this Article: 96/5/1600    most recent 00595.2003v1 Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (34) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Stamenovic, D. Articles by Buy, J. E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Stamenovic, D. Articles by Buy, J. E.

Rheology of airway smooth muscle cells is associated with cytoskeletal contractile stress

Dimitrije Stamenovi,¹ Béla Suki,¹ Ben Fabry,² Ning Wang,² Jeffrey J. Fredberg,² and Julie E. Buy, Technical Assistance¹

¹Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, and ²Physiology Program, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachussetts 02115

Submitted 10 June 2003 ; accepted in final form 31 December 2003

Recently reported data from mechanical measurements of cultured airway smooth muscle cells show that stiffness of the cytoskeletal matrix is determined by the extent of static contractile stress borne by the cytoskeleton (Wang N, Toli-Nørrelykke IM, Chen J, Mijailovich SM, Butler JP, Fredberg JJ, and Stamenovi D. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 282, C606-C616, 2002). On the other hand, rheological measurements on these cells show that cytoskeletal stiffness changes with frequency of imposed mechanical loading according to a power law (Fabry B, Maksym GN, Butler JP, Glogauer M, Navajas DF, and Fredberg JJ. Phys Rev Lett 87: 148102, 2001). In this study, we examine the possibility that these two empirical observations might be interrelated. We combine previously reported data for contractile stress of human airway smooth muscle cells with new data describing rheological properties of these cells and derive quantitative, mathematically tractable, and experimentally verifiable empirical relationships between contractile stress and indexes of cell rheology. These findings reveal an intriguing role of the contractile stress: although it maintains structural stability of the cell under applied mechanical loads, it may also regulate rheological properties of the cytoskeleton, which are essential for other cell functions.

contractility; power law; stiffness; cytometry; mechanics

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. H. Zhou, X. Trepat, C. Y. Park, G. Lenormand, M. N. Oliver, S. M. Mijailovich, C. Hardin, D. A. Weitz, J. P. Butler, and J. J. Fredberg Universal behavior of the osmotically compressed cell and its analogy to the colloidal glass transition PNAS, June 30, 2009; 106(26): 10632 - 10637. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. K. Ansell, P. K. McFawn, P. B. Noble, A. R. West, L. Fernandes, and H. W. Mitchell Potent bronchodilation and reduced stiffness by relaxant stimuli under dynamic conditions Eur. Respir. J., April 1, 2009; 33(4): 844 - 851. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Jesudason, L. Black, A. Majumdar, P. Stone, and B. Suki Differential effects of static and cyclic stretching during elastase digestion on the mechanical properties of extracellular matrices J Appl Physiol, September 1, 2007; 103(3): 803 - 811. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. D. Hoffman, G. Massiera, K. M. Van Citters, and J. C. Crocker The consensus mechanics of cultured mammalian cells PNAS, July 5, 2006; 103(27): 10259 - 10264. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				X. Trepat, F. Puig, N. Gavara, J. J. Fredberg, R. Farre, and D. Navajas Effect of stretch on structural integrity and micromechanics of human alveolar epithelial cell monolayers exposed to thrombin Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol, June 1, 2006; 290(6): L1104 - L1110. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Ito, A. Majumdar, H. Kume, K. Shimokata, K. Naruse, K. R. Lutchen, D. Stamenovic, and B. Suki Viscoelastic and dynamic nonlinear properties of airway smooth muscle tissue: roles of mechanical force and the cytoskeleton Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol, June 1, 2006; 290(6): L1227 - L1237. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. L. Gardel, F. Nakamura, J. H. Hartwig, J. C. Crocker, T. P. Stossel, and D. A. Weitz Prestressed F-actin networks cross-linked by hinged filamins replicate mechanical properties of cells PNAS, February 7, 2006; 103(6): 1762 - 1767. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Deng, N. J. Fairbank, D. J. Cole, J. J. Fredberg, and G. N. Maksym Airway smooth muscle tone modulates mechanically induced cytoskeletal stiffening and remodeling J Appl Physiol, August 1, 2005; 99(2): 634 - 641. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				X. Trepat, M. Grabulosa, F. Puig, G. N. Maksym, D. Navajas, and R. Farre Viscoelasticity of human alveolar epithelial cells subjected to stretch Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol, November 1, 2004; 287(5): L1025 - L1034. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]