Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Molecular, Cellular, and Tissue Engineering

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Mechanobiology

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering

The Influence Of Flow Mechanotransduction On Endothelial Cells In The Lymphatic Valve Sinus, Joshua Daniel Hall Jun 2022

The Influence Of Flow Mechanotransduction On Endothelial Cells In The Lymphatic Valve Sinus, Joshua Daniel Hall

Doctoral Dissertations

Fluid flow in the cardiovascular and lymphatic systems influences the phenotype of endothelial cells that line the interior to the vessel via mechanotransduction. Geometric features in a vessel such as curvature, bifurcation, and valves promote heterogeneous fluid flow profiles, inducing a heterogeneous endothelial phenotype within a vessel region. Certain flow conditions are associated with vascular dysfunction, and diseases such as atherosclerosis preferentially develop in areas of flow disturbance. Lymphatic vessels are highly analogous to blood vessels, although lymphatic flow characteristics and its effect on lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) via mechanotransduction have been comparatively less examined. The most significant geometric features …


Biophysical Features Of The Extracellular Matrix Direct Breast Cancer Metastasis, Alyssa Schwartz Nov 2018

Biophysical Features Of The Extracellular Matrix Direct Breast Cancer Metastasis, Alyssa Schwartz

Doctoral Dissertations

Breast cancer is plagued by two key clinical challenges; drug resistance and metastasis. Most work to date probes these events on an extremely rigid plastic surface, which recapitulates few aspects of these processes in humans. A malignant cell first resides in breast tissue, then likely travels to the bone, brain, liver, or lung, each of which has a distinct mechanical and biochemical profile. Cells transmit mechanical forces into intracellular tension and biochemical signaling events, and here we hypothesize that this mechanotransduction influences drug response, growth, and migration. To probe the impact of extracellular matrix on drug resistance, we defined a …