Abstract
A finite element analysis using structural optimization method was performed to simulate the remodeling of bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs), in which cell surface geometries were measured by an atomic force microscope (AFM) system. After applying a steady shear stress of 2 Pa for 24 hours, BAECs showed marked elongation and aligned in the flow direction. In the AFM measurements, the peak cell height decreased significantly from 2.8 ± 1.0 μm to 1.4 ± 0.5 μm with exposure to fluid flow. The fluorescent images showed that control cells exhibited dense peripheral bands of F-actin filaments, while sheared cells exhibited F-actin stress fibers which were thick and centrally located parallel to the flow direction. In the analysis, elastic modulus of each element was changed in accordance with an object stress, together with update of cell shape using Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) method. Numerical results showed that the cell height decreased with fluid flow and the higher elastic modulus appeared in the upstream region of the nucleus in the final step, which may correspond with cytoskeletal structure. The present analysis should be effective for clarifying the remodeling of endothelial cells.
