The effect of fluid shear stress on the migration and proliferation of cultured endothelial cells.

We have examined the effect of shear stress on the regenerative response of cultured vascular endothelial cells by using a fluid shear apparatus designed in our laboratory. The shear stress was created on the endothelial cell layer of a fetal calf and grown confluently in a culture dish by whirling the medium, with a rotating disk placed on the fluid surface. The effect of the shear load (0.3-1.7 dyn/cm2) over 24 hr was evaluated by counting the number of regenerated cells in a denuded area that had been created by mechanically removing some cells before rotating the medium. The cell number observed in the denuded area after the exposure to shear stress was about twice as great as that of the static control. The difference was statistically significant (P less than 0.01 to P less than 0.05). Cell migration and proliferation occurred more prominently in the downstream portion of the flow than in the upstream part. The cell number in the downstream portions correlated significantly with the intensity of the applied shear stress (P less than 0.05). These results indicate that shear stress can stimulate the migration and proliferation of endothelial cells.