Reorientation response of endothelial cells to cyclic compression: comparison with cyclic stretching

Cells undergo a combination of mechanical stretching and compression in vivo. Thus, it is of interest to compare cellular responses to stretching vs. compression. To study the responses to cyclic compression human aortic endothelial cells (HAEC) were cultured on pre-stretched silicone membranes and cyclically compressed at various strain rates (5%/s, 10%/s, and 20%/s) and magnitudes (3%, 5%, and 10%) for 0-6 hours. We then measured distributions of the angle change of the cells and examined their actin (stress fiber) morphology reorganization. Results of this study show some similarities and some differences from results of previous cyclic stretching studies of HAEC.