title: Compression induced cell damage in engineered muscle tissue: an in vitro model to study pressure ulcer aetiology.
abstract: The aetiology of pressure ulcers is poorly understood. The complexity of the problem, involving mechanical, biochemical, and physiological factors demands the need for simpler model systems that can be used to investigate the relative contribution of these factors, while controlling others. Therefore, an in vitro model system of engineered skeletal muscle tissue constructs was developed. With this model system, the relationship between compressive tissue straining and cell damage initiation was investigated under well-defined environmental conditions. Compression of the engineered muscle tissue constructs revealed that cell death occurs within 1-2 h at clinically relevant straining percentages and that higher strains led to earlier damage initiation. In addition, the uniform distribution of dead cells throughout the constructs suggested that sustained deformation of the cells was the principle cause of cell death. Therefore, it is hypothetised that sustained cell deformation is an additional mechanism that plays a role in the development of pressure ulcers.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Tissue Biomechanics and Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: R G M
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Breuls
authors.forename: C V C
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Bouten
authors.forename: C W J
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Oomens
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Bader
authors.forename: F P T
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Baaijens
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016923:Cell Death; D004867:Equipment Design; D051379:Mice; D008954:Models, Biological; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000473:pathology; D032448:Myoblasts, Skeletal / Q000473:pathology; D011312:Pressure; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D023822:Tissue Engineering