Applying Steady Flow to A Mesanchymal Stem Cell for Differntiating into Cardiomyocyte: A Simulation Study

Background: Presently, surgical interventions for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases encounter restrictions such as lack of donor organs for transplant, limited strength of transplanted organs and the need of prescription after transplantation. Tissue engineering is a new field to overcome these limitations. Stem cells are the optimal cell source for heart tissue engineering due to their ability to self-repair and differentiating to cardio-myocytes. Blood flow is one of the most important mechanical stimulations for differentiating of stem cells, adjustment of car-diovascular function and homeostasis.Materials and Methods: Simulation of fluid-solid interaction was accomplished to investigate the application of steady flow on a single mesenchymal stem cell adhering to a fibronectin membrane in a perfusion bioreactor. Laminar flow was applied for simplification. the fluid was considered water and the cell had elastic material properties. The effect of flow variables on stem cell behavior in order to differentiate into cardiomyocyte cells and its mechanobiology was analyzed. This simulation has been done by ANSYS software.Results: The maximum von mises stress achieved on the cell membrane is about 5-10 dyn/cm2. According to previous re-searches, in this stress, cell response of cardiac markers, such as MEF2C and sarcomeric α-actinin, increase a significant amount.Conclusion: In this study, by applying flow with the velocity of 0.33 mm/s, the amount of stress is within the range of 5-10 dyn/cm2 by considering a three-dimensional cell model com-prising of nucleus and cytoplasm. Corresponding to studies beforehand, with in the mentioned range of stresses, the fate of the stem cell may be distinguished to cardiomyocytes. It is suggested for future studies that the effect of pulsatile flow on the maximum von mises stress should be considered.

Keywords:

Mesenchymal Stem Cell , Mechanotransduction , Flu-id-Solid Interaction , Cell Mechanics