Conditions for Osteoblast Arrangement Induced under Long-Term Cyclic Stretching

Abstract

Though mechanical stimuli are essential for appropriate tissue morphogenesis, excess stress induces cell death resulting in imperfect development. Bone tissue has a highly ordered structure that is responsible for its mechanical function. Osteoblast mechanosensitivity is considered as one of the regulators for anisotropic morphogenesis of bone tissue, by controlling the balance between cell death and cellular responses, including both morphological and functional changes caused by mechanical stress. The optimal conditions for continuous cyclic stretching required for retaining the osteoblast arrangement in long-term cultivation were determined, which led to the establishment of an ordered architecture of the primary osteoblast monolayer. Long-term cultivation under continuous mechanical stress is quite challenging and has not yet been established, because of the inability to retain cell arrangement without inducing cell death. The present findings are relevant for bone tissue reconstruction with the recovery of the original ordered microstructure of bone tissue because the development of an ordered pattern of osteoblasts is imperative for the following anisotropic bone tissue genesis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on sustaining an ordered cell arrangement under mechanical stress for a long-term period of 168 h.