Viscoelastic Properties of Vascular Endothelial Cells Exposed to Stretch

Abstract

In this paper, we study how cytoskeletal remodeling is correlated to changes in subcellular microrheology. We analyze the changes in the magnitude and directionality of the shear and elastic moduli of bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) exposed to cyclical, uniaxial stretch. We find that, when stretched, BAECs stiffen and align their softest direction of mechanical polarization perpendicular to stretch. We hypothesize that the response of VECs to stretch acts to minimize intracellular strain in response to stress.