Continuous Exposure to Simulated Hypergravity-Induced Changes in Proliferation, Morphology, and Gene Expression of Human Tendon Cells
Publication: Stem Cells and Development
Volume 27, Issue Number 12
Abstract
Gravity influences physical and biological processes, especially during development and homeostasis of several tissues in the human body. Studies under altered gravity have been receiving great attention toward a better understanding of microgravity-, hypogravity (<1 g)-, or hypergravity (>1 g)-induced alterations. In this work, the influence of simulated hypergravity over human tendon-derived cells (hTDCs) was studied at 5, 10, 15, and 20 g for 4 or 16 h, using a large diameter centrifuge. Main results showed that 16 h of simulated hypergravity limited cell proliferation. Cell area was higher in hTDCs cultured at 5, 10, and 15 g for 16 h, in comparison to 1 g control. Actin filaments were more pronounced in hTDCs cultured at 5 and 10 g for 16 h. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) was mainly expressed in focal adhesion sites upon hypergravity stimulation, in comparison to perinuclear localization in control cells after 16 h; and FAK number/cell increased with increasing g-levels. A tendency toward an upregulation of tenogenic markers was observed; scleraxis (SCX), tenascin C (TNC), collagen type III (COL3A1), and decorin (DCN) were significantly upregulated in hTDCs cultured at 15 g and COL3A1 and DCN were significantly upregulated in hTDCs cultured at 20 g. Overall, simulated hypergravity affected the behavior of hTDCs, with more pronounced effects in the long-term period (16 h) of stimulation.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Stem Cells and Development
Volume 27 • Issue Number 12 • June 15, 2018
Pages: 858 - 869
PubMed: 29649412
Copyright
Copyright 2018, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
History
Published in print: June 15, 2018
Published online: 15 June 2018
Published ahead of print: 17 April 2018
Published ahead of production: 16 March 2018
Accepted: 16 March 2018
Received: 9 October 2017
Authors
Author Disclosure Statement
No competing financial interests exist.
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