Fluid shear stress-induced mechanotransduction in myoblasts: Does it depend on the glycocalyx?

Mohammad Haroon, Niek G. C. Bloks, Louise Deldicque, Katrien Koppo, Hadi Seddiqi, Astrid D. Bakker, Jenneke Klein-Nulend, Richard T. Jaspers

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    Abstract

    Muscle stem cells (MuSCs) are involved in muscle maintenance and regeneration. Mechanically loaded MuSCs within their native niche undergo tensile and shear deformations, but how MuSCs sense mechanical stimuli and translate these into biochemical signals regulating function and fate is still poorly understood. We aimed to investigate whether the glycocalyx is involved in the MuSC mechanoresponse, and whether MuSC morphology affects mechanical loading-induced pressure, shear stress, and fluid velocity distribution. FSS-induced deformation of active proliferating MuSCs (myoblasts) with intact or degraded glycocalyx was assessed by live-cell imaging. Glycocalyx-degradation did not significantly affect nitric oxide production, but reduced FSS-induced myoblast deformation and modulated gene expression. Finite-element analysis revealed that the distribution of FSS-induced pressure, shear stress, and fluid velocity on myoblasts was non-uniform, and the magnitude depended on myoblast morphology and apex-height. In conclusion, our results suggest that the glycocalyx does not play a role in NO production in myoblasts but might impact mechanotransduction and gene expression, which needs further investigation. Future studies will unravel the underlying mechanism by which the glycocalyx affects FSS-induced myoblast deformation, which might be related to increased drag forces. Moreover, MuSCs with varying apex-height experience different levels of FSS-induced pressure, shear stress, and fluid velocity, suggesting differential responsiveness to fluid shear forces.
    Original languageEnglish
    Article number113204
    Pages (from-to)1-13
    Number of pages13
    JournalExperimental cell research
    Volume417
    Issue number1
    Early online date16 May 2022
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Aug 2022

    Keywords

    • Cell deformation
    • Fluid shear stress
    • Glycocalyx
    • Mechanotransduction
    • Myoblast
    • Nitric oxide

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