Host: The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
Name : [in Japanese]
Date : September 03, 2017 - September 06, 2017
Bone receives mechanical loadings in daily activities, and remodels itself according to the mechanical loadings. In this bone remodeling phenomenon, osteocytes are considered the key regulator. It is reported that osteocytes embedded bone matrix can sense mechanical stimuli and produce biochemical signaling molecules. Osteocytes play an important role in bone remodeling by regulating the activities of osteoblasts and osteoclasts. In order to understand bone remodeling mechanism, it is necessary to focus on the mechano-sensing and mechano-response functions in osteocytes. In this study, we focus on the mechanism that osteocytes produce nitric oxide which is one of biochemical signal molecules. The isolation method of osteocytes from calvaria and long bones in mice was established. The isolated osteocytes are stimulated with oscillatory shear flow in flow channels. As a result, nitric oxide concentration increased overall within osteocytes. And, many spots where nitric oxide was produced were observed within osteocytes. The time when nitric oxide concentration increased and this concentration on each spot was different each other. By analyzing this difference, the mechanism osteocytes produce nitric oxide is discussed.
