On the Three-Dimensional Correlation Between Myofibroblast Shape and Contraction. 2021

Alex Khang, and Emma Lejeune, and Ali Abbaspour, and Daniel P Howsmon, and Michael S Sacks
James T. Willerson Center for Cardiovascular Modeling and Simulation, The Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712; Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712.

Myofibroblasts are responsible for wound healing and tissue repair across all organ systems. In periods of growth and disease, myofibroblasts can undergo a phenotypic transition characterized by an increase in extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition rate, changes in various protein expression (e.g., alpha-smooth muscle actin (αSMA)), and elevated contractility. Cell shape is known to correlate closely with stress-fiber geometry and function and is thus a critical feature of cell biophysical state. However, the relationship between myofibroblast shape and contraction is complex, even as well in regards to steady-state contractile level (basal tonus). At present, the relationship between myofibroblast shape and basal tonus in three-dimensional (3D) environments is poorly understood. Herein, we utilize the aortic valve interstitial cell (AVIC) as a representative myofibroblast to investigate the relationship between basal tonus and overall cell shape. AVICs were embedded within 3D poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogels containing degradable peptide crosslinkers, adhesive peptide sequences, and submicron fluorescent microspheres to track the local displacement field. We then developed a methodology to evaluate the correlation between overall AVIC shape and basal tonus induced contraction. We computed a volume averaged stretch tensor ⟨U⟩ for the volume occupied by the AVIC, which had three distinct eigenvalues (λ1,2,3=1.08,0.99, and 0.89), suggesting that AVIC shape is a result of anisotropic contraction. Furthermore, the direction of maximum contraction correlated closely with the longest axis of a bounding ellipsoid enclosing the AVIC. As gel-imbedded AVICs are known to be in a stable state by 3 days of incubation used herein, this finding suggests that the overall quiescent AVIC shape is driven by the underlying stress-fiber directional structure and potentially contraction level.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D058628 Myofibroblasts Spindle-shaped cells with characteristic CONTRACTILE PROTEINS and structures that contribute to the WOUND HEALING process. They occur in GRANULATION TISSUE and also in pathological processes such as FIBROSIS. Myofibroblast

Related Publications

Alex Khang, and Emma Lejeune, and Ali Abbaspour, and Daniel P Howsmon, and Michael S Sacks
January 2014, The International journal of periodontics & restorative dentistry,
Alex Khang, and Emma Lejeune, and Ali Abbaspour, and Daniel P Howsmon, and Michael S Sacks
January 2017, Journal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons--Pakistan : JCPSP,
Alex Khang, and Emma Lejeune, and Ali Abbaspour, and Daniel P Howsmon, and Michael S Sacks
January 2005, Wound repair and regeneration : official publication of the Wound Healing Society [and] the European Tissue Repair Society,
Alex Khang, and Emma Lejeune, and Ali Abbaspour, and Daniel P Howsmon, and Michael S Sacks
June 2010, Vision research,
Alex Khang, and Emma Lejeune, and Ali Abbaspour, and Daniel P Howsmon, and Michael S Sacks
December 1997, Gene,
Alex Khang, and Emma Lejeune, and Ali Abbaspour, and Daniel P Howsmon, and Michael S Sacks
July 2015, The Review of scientific instruments,
Alex Khang, and Emma Lejeune, and Ali Abbaspour, and Daniel P Howsmon, and Michael S Sacks
January 2007, Visual cognition,
Alex Khang, and Emma Lejeune, and Ali Abbaspour, and Daniel P Howsmon, and Michael S Sacks
June 1997, Shanghai kou qiang yi xue = Shanghai journal of stomatology,
Alex Khang, and Emma Lejeune, and Ali Abbaspour, and Daniel P Howsmon, and Michael S Sacks
April 2020, Psychological science,
Alex Khang, and Emma Lejeune, and Ali Abbaspour, and Daniel P Howsmon, and Michael S Sacks
May 1987, IEEE transactions on bio-medical engineering,
Copied contents to your clipboard!