Mechanobiology of the aortic heart valve.
The aortic heart valve is a complex and sophisticated structure that functions in a mechanically challenging environment. With each cardiac cycle, blood flow exerts shear stresses, bending stress and tensile and compressive forces on the valve tissue. These forces determine a plethora of biological responses, including gene expression, protein activation and cell phenotype. Consequently, mechanical forces may influence valve remodeling or pathological changes. Understanding the mechanobiology of heart valves is a vast task. Herein, some of the recent studies that have increased current knowledge of endothelial and interstitial cell interactions with physical forces are examined. Additionally, experimental co-culture models are described that are being developed to further improve the understanding of endothelial-interstitial cell interactions. Finally, the means by which organ culture systems are being utilized to study heart valve biology, thereby providing a complementary approach to in vivo experimentation, are described.
Butcher
Jonathan T
JT
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
Simmons
Craig A
CA
Warnock
James N
JN
D000818:Animals; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D018925:Chemokines / Q000378:metabolism; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006801:Humans; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008954:Models, Biological
D018925:Chemokines; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins