Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Apr 1;23(7):3919. doi: 10.3390/ijms23073919.
A prominent feature of the skeleton is its ability to remodel in response to biophysical stimuli and to repair under varied biophysical conditions. This allows the skeleton considerable adaptation to meet its physiological roles of stability and movement. Skeletal cells and their mesenchymal precursors exist in a native environment rich with biophysical signals, and they sense and respond to those signals to meet organismal demands of the skeleton. While mechanical strain is the most recognized of the skeletal biophysical stimuli, signaling phenomena also include fluid flow, hydrostatic pressure, shear stress, and ion-movement-related electrokinetic phenomena including, prominently, streaming potentials. Because of the complex interactions of these electromechanical signals, it is difficult to isolate the significance of each. The application of external electrical and electromagnetic fields allows an exploration of the effects of these stimuli on cell differentiation and extra-cellular matrix formation in the absence of mechanical strain. This review takes a distinctly translational approach to mechanistic and preclinical studies of differentiation and skeletal lineage commitment of mesenchymal cells under biophysical stimulation. In vitro studies facilitate the examination of isolated cellular responses while in vivo studies permit the observation of cell differentiation and extracellular matrix synthesis.
骨骼的一个突出特征是它能够响应生物物理刺激进行重塑，并在各种生物物理条件下进行修复。这使得骨骼能够很好地适应，以满足其稳定性和运动的生理功能。骨骼细胞及其间充质前体细胞存在于富含生物物理信号的天然环境中，它们能够感知这些信号，并对其做出反应，以满足骨骼的机体需求。虽然机械应变是最受认可的骨骼生物物理刺激，但信号现象还包括流体流动、静水压力、切应力和离子运动相关的电动现象，其中突出的是流动电位。由于这些机电信号的复杂相互作用，很难单独确定每个信号的重要性。施加外部电场和电磁场可以在没有机械应变的情况下探索这些刺激对细胞分化和细胞外基质形成的影响。本综述采用明显的转化方法，研究生物物理刺激下间充质细胞的分化和骨骼谱系的决定。体外研究有助于检查细胞的孤立反应，而体内研究则允许观察细胞分化和细胞外基质合成。
