Application of mechanobiological engineering to regenerative and reproductive medicine

Abstract

Recent advancement of mechanobiological research contributes to understanding and cure of diseases, leading to the birth of mechanomedicine. Here we introduce innovative mechano-medical technologies that pursue clinical use. In dermal regenerative medicine, we performed co-culture of dermal keratinocytes and fibroblasts with stretch stimulus, and found thickening of dermal layer and facilitated basal membrane formation. In cardiac regenerative medicine, we found that exosomes released from stem cells in response to mechanical stimulus excrete paracrine factors and micro RNAs, and thus enhance therapeutic effect of cell therapy in vivo. In reproductive medicine, we applied mechanical stimulus to fertilized eggs using a tilting embryo culture system, and confirmed enhancement of blastocyst development rate. Exhaustive gene analysis suggested that the enhancement is due to alteration of gene expression at epiblast. We continue to reveal the mechanisms of biological response to mechanical stimulus, and pursue clinical application of mechano-medical therapy.