title: Non-uniform flow behavior in a parallel plate flow chamber : alters endothelial cell responses.
abstract: Arterial flow characteristics determine vessel health by modulating vascular endothelial cells. One system used to study these interactions is the parallel plate flow chamber. The present in vitro study quantified the uniformity of fluid flow across a parallel plate flow chamber and characterized plate-location dependent endothelial cell gene expression. More specifically, shear stress varied by as much as 11% across the chamber area, which caused non-uniform ecNOS (p < 0.05) and COX-2 (p < 0.05) mRNA expression across the plate area. Results herein suggest that chamber variations may result during construction or assembly, which ultimately affect flow-sensitive cell responses (including mRNA expression). Therefore, these limitations should be considered when reporting endothelial cell responses to fluid flow using parallel plate flow chambers.
authors.affiliation: Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, 500 Central Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2022, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: McCann
authors.forename: Sean D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Plesniak
authors.forename: Thomas J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Webster
authors.forename: Karen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Haberstroh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular / Q000502:physiology*; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D051381:Rats; D033081:Shear Strength