Cell Biomechanics / Cell Mechanics / Mechanobiology
sajad ghazavi; Bahman Vahidi
Volume 10, Issue 3 , October 2016, , Pages 257-266
Abstract
Due to the importance of the brain and neurons, a vast area of research has been conducted in this field. However, due to the complexity of the neural behavior, each study investigated the functionality of neurons from one perspective such as electrophysiological, chemical, or mechanical perspective. ...
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Due to the importance of the brain and neurons, a vast area of research has been conducted in this field. However, due to the complexity of the neural behavior, each study investigated the functionality of neurons from one perspective such as electrophysiological, chemical, or mechanical perspective. In spite of the large number of research conducted on the brain injury topic, there is no study investigating the interaction of the mechanical and electrical characteristics of the neurons and its effect on the cell functionality. Understating the interaction between the mechanical and electrical properties of a neuron will have a substantial effect on treating neurological diseases such as traumatic brain injury and improving treatment methods such as ultrasound. As a result, there is a vital need to simulate the effect of mechanical forces on the electrophysiological behavior of a neuron. This study is one of the few attempts to achieve this goal by taking into account the mechanosensitivity of ion channels which affects the action potentials. Our proposed comprehensive model is based on power law equation (fractional dashpot) for mechanical modeling, Hodgkin Huxley (HH) equation for electrophysiological model and recent experiments for combination of these two equations. Based on the model, the calculated strain from the power law equation affects the activation and inactivation of ion channels. By changing the activation and inactivation variable in the HH equation, we can evaluate the effect of strain and mechanical stimulation on neural function. The results reveal neuron functions’ deficiency during neuron mechanical damage. As a result, action potential signal’s amplitude reduces. This reduction in amplitude of the action potential may be reversible or irreversible based on the amount of damage (plastic deformation).
Tissue Engineering
Zakieh Alihemmati; Bahman Vahidi; Nooshin Haghighipour
Volume 8, Issue 2 , June 2014, , Pages 135-149
Abstract
Body cells, including mesenchymal stem cells are subject to a lot of mechanical forces. The type and magnitude of these forces are different in different physiological and pathological conditions. They cause a wide variety of cell responses and are able to change metabolisms and functions of the cell. ...
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Body cells, including mesenchymal stem cells are subject to a lot of mechanical forces. The type and magnitude of these forces are different in different physiological and pathological conditions. They cause a wide variety of cell responses and are able to change metabolisms and functions of the cell. Analysis of stem cell response to mechanical stimulation is very important in recognizing healthy and diseased condition of tissues and cells. Differentiation potential of mesenchymal stem cells to specialized cells makes them important cell sources in tissue engineering. In this study, atomic force microscopy and finite element method and used mechanical effects on a stem cellaresimulated which includes cell behavior due to strain andstress distributions in internal components of the cell. In this study, the ADINA software used to simulate mechanical behavior of the cell components (cell membrane, cytoplasm and nucleus) under a compressiveload. Results indicate mechanical response of stem cells in the body through which they can differentiate into bone cells and cartilage under compressive loads in the physiological range. This study has some considerable innovations as compared with the similar studies in the literature which is because of the kind of cells has been used (adipose-derived stem cells) as well as and also using precise material models for cell components based on the data extracted from laboratory tests for mechanical properties of the cell. Furthermore, this study can be considered as an important initial step for future studies on different patho-cells and analyzing their responses to mechanical loading using a similar method of this study to find new diagnostic methods. Also, it can be used to deepen pathological studies of the cells and the tissues.
Biomimetics
Mohammad Reza Nikmaneshi; Bahar Firoozabadi; Mohammad Saeid Saeidi
Volume 7, Issue 2 , June 2013, , Pages 97-105
Abstract
The front part of a cell is divided to two regions called lamellum and lamellipodium (lamellipodial). Internal flows in this part plays an essential role for cell migration. Indeed, there are many protein filaments called actin in lamellum and lamellipodium, which induce the cell motion with polymerization ...
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The front part of a cell is divided to two regions called lamellum and lamellipodium (lamellipodial). Internal flows in this part plays an essential role for cell migration. Indeed, there are many protein filaments called actin in lamellum and lamellipodium, which induce the cell motion with polymerization in the leading edge of the cell. The actin filaments adhere to the extracellular matrix (ECM) by means of focal adhesions and they have contact by myosin motor proteins. The myosin motor proteins cause actin retrograde and anterograde flow exerted contractile stress on them. The focal adhesions exert frictional stress on the actin filaments. In this work, we developed a two-dimensional continuum model of the fanshaped lamellipodial to obtain the actin retrograde flow. In addition, the actin filaments are assumed as a highly viscous Newtonian fluid. We also investigated the effects of the myosin distribution and cell speed on the actin flow. Our results include actin flow and myosin distribution in the moving cell, and we also illustrate their relation together. These results accord to reported experimentally and numerically data, and are verified with them.
Cell Biomechanics / Cell Mechanics / Mechanobiology
Seyed Hojat Sabzpoushan; Zahra Daneshparvar
Volume 7, Issue 3 , June 2013, , Pages 187-200
Abstract
The study of cardiac arrhythmia is a great help for prevention of the major reason of human death. To study the arrhythmias, we need cell models that not only mimic AP’s normal behavior, but also show their abnormal activity. The usual electrophysiological models contain a lot of details and hence ...
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The study of cardiac arrhythmia is a great help for prevention of the major reason of human death. To study the arrhythmias, we need cell models that not only mimic AP’s normal behavior, but also show their abnormal activity. The usual electrophysiological models contain a lot of details and hence complicate mathematics which lowers the computational efficiency. In this paper, a minimal 2-state variables model is presented that not only simulates normal characteristics of human ventricular cells like excitability, AP morphology, restitution and effects of currents block, but also replicates early after depolarization (EAD) which is an abnormal activity of cardiac cells. The presented model is a conductance based one, incorporating two currents; inward and outward that delighting all the membrane inward and outward currents respectively. The adjustment and regulation of parameters were performed using an iterative algorithm that minimizes mean squares error between model responses and real APs. The effective range of parameters for initiation of the EAD is determined by the use of dynamical system analysis theory. The simulation results are in agreement with electrophysiological realities. The computing time of the model for an one-dimensional array of 10 cells is estimated to be between 34 to 112 times faster than some well-known electrophysiological models.
Bioelectromagnetics
Hadi Tavakoli; Ali Motie Nasrabadi; Seyed Mohammad Firouzabadi; Mehri Kaviyani Moghaddam
Volume 6, Issue 2 , June 2012, , Pages 123-131
Abstract
During recent years, the environment has been enormously changed by the wide range of magnetic fields. Therefore, comprehensive studies are being done for investigating their biological effects. The effects such as inhibition of bioelectric activity of neurons which is shown by evidence, like decreasing ...
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During recent years, the environment has been enormously changed by the wide range of magnetic fields. Therefore, comprehensive studies are being done for investigating their biological effects. The effects such as inhibition of bioelectric activity of neurons which is shown by evidence, like decreasing in the firing frequency or decreasing in the amplitude of action potential, have been shown. To notify and investigate these effects, the theory of “biological windows” have been proposed and considered. The effects of amplitude and/or frequency of magnetic field have been pointed in some research. In this study, regarding the behavior of nervous system, which has non-linear dynamic behavior, we study the behavior of nervous system under exposure to magnetic field. We investigate whether the low frequency field is able to affect the dynamic of nerve cells and to have influence on non-linear features of signal. We used 6 environmental intensities and 6 cells have been used in each intensity, and by calculating some of non-linear features of action potential such as Higuchi Dimension and Return map of signal, during the time and in some different intensities of magnetic fields, It was observed that all intensities magnetic fields lead to increasing in Higuchi Dimension and increasing in the scattering of the Return map of signal. Of course these effects has been more observed in the middle band of frequency which has been confirmed by the theory of ‘frequency window’ effect of magnetic fields, which it has been noticed and discussed in last two decades.
Cell Biomechanics / Cell Mechanics / Mechanobiology
Siavash Mazdeyasna; Amir Homayoun Jafari
Volume 5, Issue 3 , June 2011, , Pages 181-192
Abstract
In this paper, two models are introduced based on cellular automata and the game theory to study behavior, growth, development and morphology of cancerous cells by assuming nutrition supplies, extracellular matrix, and immune cells. A two-dimensional cellular automaton combine with game theory is considered ...
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In this paper, two models are introduced based on cellular automata and the game theory to study behavior, growth, development and morphology of cancerous cells by assuming nutrition supplies, extracellular matrix, and immune cells. A two-dimensional cellular automaton combine with game theory is considered as the structure of model. The cellular automata modeling framework can be an efficient approach to a number of biological problems; and game theory aims to help us to understand situations in which decision-makers interact such as competitive activity. In the first model, we consider different oxygen supplies to study the growth and invasion of cancerous cell. The results of our simulation are validated by the results of other articles. The results show that the number of cancerous cells is easily changed by changing amount of oxygen supplies, but invasive distance of tumor cells is not easily affected by this factor. Furthermore the results of this model are not linear, that could show the improvement of the model. In addition, this model has the ability of producing metastasis, as it is shown. In the second model, the interaction between immune cells and cancerous cells are considered. Two-dimensional cellular automata and game theory are used for this purpose. In this model the behavior of cellular automata is determined by the game theory. The rules of cellular automata are determined by game theory table, so each element of the system could make a decision separately.
Nano-Biomaterials
Melika Iloukhani; Mohammad Rabiee; Mahvash Oskoui; Fathollah Moztarzadeh; Mahdis Shayan
Volume 5, Issue 3 , June 2011, , Pages 193-204
Abstract
In recent years, nanoparticles have attracted considerable attention due to their special optical, chemical, and electrical properties. Developments of nanoparticles synthesis methods for producing materials with precise size and morphology have been considered recently. Among these methods, biosynthesis ...
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In recent years, nanoparticles have attracted considerable attention due to their special optical, chemical, and electrical properties. Developments of nanoparticles synthesis methods for producing materials with precise size and morphology have been considered recently. Among these methods, biosynthesis has a special position for its high compatibility with environment. The use of microorganism in nanotechnology is one of the important aspects of this issue. In this survey we have used Escherichia coli 35218 to Cadmium Sulfide nanoparticles synthesis. First, appropriate time of cadmium ions addition and their maximum concentrations were determined that they dont inhibit bacterial growth. Then we studied intra and extracellular biosynthesis. According to this survey, this strain wasn't able to produce cadmium sulfide nanoparticles intracellulary but also these nanoparticles were extracellulary synthesized in the medium supplemented with L-cysteine. Formation of CdS nanoparticles, their morphologies and fluorescence properties were determined with WDX, SEM and fluorescence microscopy.
Cell Biomechanics / Cell Mechanics / Mechanobiology
Seyed Abed Hosseini; Mohammad Ali Khalilzadeh; Seyed Mehran Homam
Volume 4, Issue 1 , June 2010, , Pages 23-31
Abstract
Various stressful stimuli have different effects on health, decision making, creativity, learning and memory. Understanding human mental states such as stress can prevent its long-term side effects on the body and mind. This study deals with the responses of the neural and hormonal systems to stress ...
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Various stressful stimuli have different effects on health, decision making, creativity, learning and memory. Understanding human mental states such as stress can prevent its long-term side effects on the body and mind. This study deals with the responses of the neural and hormonal systems to stress using the brain cognitive map in this state and simulates the behavior of the CA1 cell calcium channels with electrophysiological equations in the NEURON software. During stress, the glucocorticoids hormones secreted by the adrenal gland cortex reach the hippocampus through blood flow and by activating glucocorticoids receptors, influence the calcium channels dynamics, especially the L-type and increase calcium entry into CA1 cells. This behavior, testify to the reduction of the calcium removal rate in the cells which leads to exponential decrease in cells firing rate and number of spikes and an increase in the sAHP current range. L-type calcium currents in hippocampus region are effective mechanisms during stress. Comparing the research results in two situations, the cell under control and the cell under stress, shows that the model is consistent with some basic observations of stress.
Cell Biomechanics / Cell Mechanics / Mechanobiology
Seyed Hojat Sabzpoushan; Fateme Pourhasan Zadeh; Azar Badangiz
Volume 4, Issue 1 , June 2010, , Pages 45-52
Abstract
The heart tissue is an excitable media. Cellular Automata is an approach describing cardiac action potential propagation. One of the advantages of Cellular Automata approach over the differential equations based models is its high speed in large scale simulations. Prior Cellular Automata models are not ...
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The heart tissue is an excitable media. Cellular Automata is an approach describing cardiac action potential propagation. One of the advantages of Cellular Automata approach over the differential equations based models is its high speed in large scale simulations. Prior Cellular Automata models are not able to eliminate flat edges in the simulated patterns or have large neighborhoods. Moreover, they are not able to match the shape of ventricular action potential to the real ones. In this paper, we present a new model which prevents flat edges creation by using minimum number of neighbors. we also rather preserve the real shape of action potential by using linear curve fitting of a well known electrophysiological model.
Tissue Engineering
Mehdi Navidbakhsh; Milade Jafarnejad
Volume 3, Issue 4 , June 2009, , Pages 299-306
Abstract
The cancer changes the cytoskeleton of the cells .This change has some effects on the cell mechanobiology and will lead to some changes in the deformability of the cells. The moving ability of the cancer cells would be more than healthy cells. Thus, they can migrate through the tissue in human body. ...
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The cancer changes the cytoskeleton of the cells .This change has some effects on the cell mechanobiology and will lead to some changes in the deformability of the cells. The moving ability of the cancer cells would be more than healthy cells. Thus, they can migrate through the tissue in human body. In this survey, a valid FEM of a cancer cell is presented. Then the effects of various factors such as membrane thickness, elasticity, strain, and frequency response are studied during a process of being converted from normal cells into cancerous malignant cells. Besides, the initial mathematical models are provided. The results clarify that an increase in membrane elasticity, strain, and frequency would lead to increase in the reaction force. However, an increase in the membrane thickness decreases the reaction force.
Tissue Engineering
Mohsen Rabbani; Mohammad Tafazzoli Shadpour; Zahra Goli Malekabadi; Mohsen Janmaleki; Mohammad Taghi Khorasani; Mohammad Ali Shokrgozar
Volume 3, Issue 4 , June 2009, , Pages 307-314
Abstract
Vital function of the cell is correlated with the mechanical loads that the cell experiences. The cell shape and morphology are also related to its mechanical environments. Different methods have been proposed to obtain cell groups with the same morphology and alignment which considered desirable features ...
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Vital function of the cell is correlated with the mechanical loads that the cell experiences. The cell shape and morphology are also related to its mechanical environments. Different methods have been proposed to obtain cell groups with the same morphology and alignment which considered desirable features in tissue engineering applications. For instance, applying cyclic loading makes cells elongated and aligned as bundles in a specific direction to the tension axis. Applying static stretches also affect the cells morphology, extra-cellular matrix, enzymes secretion and genes expression. The effect of applying in vivo static stretch on cellular alignment was evaluated in this study. Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) were cultured on the elastic membrane, and then subjected to static stretch. The results demonstrated that applying a 10% static stretch for 24 hours aligns intra-structure actin filaments and applying a 20% static stretch had a significant effect on the arrangement of the oriented fibers.
Tissue Engineering
Rana Imani; Parisa Rahnama Moshtaq; Shahriar Hojati Emami; Sasan Jalili; Ali Mohammad Sharifi
Volume 3, Issue 4 , June 2009, , Pages 315-324
Abstract
Cell therapy based on cell encapsulation technology holds out the promise of the treatment of many diseases. The technology of cell encapsulation represents a strategy in which cells that secrete therapeutic products are immobilized and immunoprotected within polymeric and biocompatible carriers. Hydrogels ...
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Cell therapy based on cell encapsulation technology holds out the promise of the treatment of many diseases. The technology of cell encapsulation represents a strategy in which cells that secrete therapeutic products are immobilized and immunoprotected within polymeric and biocompatible carriers. Hydrogels - highly hydrated polymer networks- have ideal characteristics for this application because of good biocompatibility and mimicking natural ECM properties. They can homogeneously incorporate and suspend cells, growth factors, and other bioactive compounds. Temperature-sensitive hydrogels, which can form implants in situ in response to temperature change, from ambient to body temperature, have been extensively used in various cell encapsulation, and tissue repair. The objective of this study was preparation, Characterization and selection the optimum composition of agarose-gelatin blend hydrogel, for cell encapsulation application. In order to obtain hydrogel with appropriate properties, rheological, mechanical, and structural characteristics of obtained hydrogels were examined. Furthermore, the stability of samples was characterized by degradation and gelatin release measurements under physiological condition. Cell attachment and cytotoxicity analysis were also performed. Based on the results, hydrogel containing a 1:1 mixture of gelatin and agarose exhibited sol-to-gel transition near body temperature. Samples contain 50% agarose and more, exhibited mechanical integrity under physiological condition. Indentation test of the mechanical properties demonstrated viscoelastic behavior of the blend gelatin-agarose hydrogels under static load; however by increasing the agarose portion, hydrogel behaved more elastically. In vitro biocompatibility experiments showed undetectable cytotoxicity of the hydrogels. Also adding gelatin to agarose modified cell attachment behavior. The results of this study indicate the possibility of the potential use of prepared thermo-responsive agarose/gelatin conjugate with nearly same portion of two components as cell encapsulation carrier.
Cell Biomechanics / Cell Mechanics / Mechanobiology
Morteza Khalilian; Mehdi Navidbakhsh; Mojtaba Rezazade; Mahmoud Chizari; Poupak Eftekhari Yazdi
Volume 2, Issue 1 , June 2008, , Pages 21-28
Abstract
Recently, considerable biomedical attention has centered on the mechanical properties of living tissues at the single cell level. Stiffness is an important parameter in determining the physical properties of living tissues. Indeed, stiffness changes of the ovum as a single cell pose a unique challenge ...
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Recently, considerable biomedical attention has centered on the mechanical properties of living tissues at the single cell level. Stiffness is an important parameter in determining the physical properties of living tissues. Indeed, stiffness changes of the ovum as a single cell pose a unique challenge in determining the sequence of fertilization. The ovum's extracellular layer has been reported to be altered following fertilization in a process described as Zona reaction. In the present study, the Young's modulus of Zona Pellucida of the mouse ovum was evaluated using micropipette aspiration technique. By incorporating exact engineering principles into the cell mechanics and extract appropriate formula, the Young's modulus of metaphase II (MII) and pronuclear (PN) was measured. The experimental results clearly demonstrated that the mouse Zona Pellucida hardened following fertilization. This study involves the contents of Reproductive Biology and Mechanics, and opens up a new trail of thought for evaluating the quality of mammalian oocytes and embryos.
Cell Biomechanics / Cell Mechanics / Mechanobiology
Naser Mehrshad; Mohammad Hasan Ghasemian Yazdi
Volume 1, Issue 2 , June 2007, , Pages 119-129
Abstract
Simple cells in primary visual cortex respond to the local, oriented edge segments within their receptive fields. In this study, we present a new edge detection method based on the computational model of these cells. Firstly, the response of a set of simple cells for a number of different preferred orientations ...
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Simple cells in primary visual cortex respond to the local, oriented edge segments within their receptive fields. In this study, we present a new edge detection method based on the computational model of these cells. Firstly, the response of a set of simple cells for a number of different preferred orientations are calculated. Then, the intensity gradient for each pixel is obtained using the linear summation of these responses. Some parameters of simple cell computational model are calculated in such a way that a set of goals (good detection, good localization and only one response to a single edge) achieving for the resulting operator. Considering the properties of medical images, the proposed operator is useful for medical image edge detection. The synthesis and medical images with their associated ground truth edge maps are used to assess performance of the proposed method. The results obtained from the proposed method are found to be better and more stable with respect to the input parameters than those from many well known edge detectors (e.g. Canny edge detector).
Cell Biomechanics / Cell Mechanics / Mechanobiology
Hamid Khaloozadeh; Pedram Yazdanbakhsh; Fateme Homaei Shandiz
Volume 1, Issue 4 , June 2007, , Pages 319-334
Abstract
The optimal doses of Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide (AC) regimen in pre-operation Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for the patients suffering from stage III breast cancer were investigated. The major benefit of Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is that it can shrink large cancers so that they are small enough to be ...
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The optimal doses of Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide (AC) regimen in pre-operation Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for the patients suffering from stage III breast cancer were investigated. The major benefit of Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is that it can shrink large cancers so that they are small enough to be removed by lumpectomy instead of mastectomy. The optimal regimen designed in this paper was based on the special conditions that every patient had been treated by her/his own physician and the resistance of tumor cells. With respect to these regimen that can achieve non equivalent doses of drug in treatment times for neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The purpose of treating the patients with cancer in neoadjuvant chemotherapy could be either destroying the cancer cells or preserving the normal cell populations in the best way, or different cases between these two situations. In this article, by solving a cost function involved with the dynamics of both cancer cells and normal cells - using the appropriate weighting coefficients suggested by the treating physician- the optimal doses of AC drugs for the patients suffering from breast cancer at stage III were computed by the proposed optimal controller.
Cell Biomechanics / Cell Mechanics / Mechanobiology
Farhad Tabatabaei Ghomshe; Ahmad Reza Arshi; Masoud Mahmoudian; Mahyar Janahmadi
Volume -1, Issue 1 , June 2004, , Pages 77-92
Abstract
Effective pharmacological analysis encompassing both the pharmacodynamics and the pharmacokinetics of the heart, dictates the necessity for responses made by the main channel receptors, to be appropriately modelled. This approach is of critical value when the pharmacological responses of the organ during ...
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Effective pharmacological analysis encompassing both the pharmacodynamics and the pharmacokinetics of the heart, dictates the necessity for responses made by the main channel receptors, to be appropriately modelled. This approach is of critical value when the pharmacological responses of the organ during pathological states are under investigation. To this effect, the electrochemical phenomenon in the heart was simulated using a specifically simplified three dimensional model based on the cellular physiological concepts. Various advanced models for different types of heart cells were combined to produce a three dimensional model capable of describing the electrophysiological, electrochemical and geometric characteristics of a heart in a non-pathological state. Various cell type models such as central and peripheral SA node, AV node, atrial myocyte, ventricular myocyte, and specialized cells for rapid conductance like purkinje fibres were included in the 3D model. The cellular architecture in the model follows the non-heterogeneity of the heart structure accompanied by gap junctions representing cellular interconnections. Here the transport of Na+, Ca++, K+ and CL- was primarily governed by such factors as electrical and chemical potential gradients along with other energetic mechanisms. The simplified heart geometry is introduced through 18 layers with 25 cells in each layer. Model equations were solved to simulate a one second using a 2.6 GHz Pentium IV PC. The simulation was performed utilizing MA TLAB programming language which provides effective visualization capabilities. The CEP model could be adopted as a preliminary basis towards individualizations in pharmacology and electrophysiology.
