Increases in intraluminal shear stress are thought to cause vasodilation of coronary arterioles by activation of Ca2+-dependent endothelial nitric oxide synthase followed by release of nitric oxide. We tested the hypothesis that endothelium-dependent vasodilation of isolated coronary arterioles to shear stress and agonists is necessarily preceded by an increase in endothelial cell Ca2+concentra...

BACKGROUND The exact pathology of diabetic foot ulcers remains to be resolved. Evidence suggests that plantar shear forces play a major role in diabetic ulceration. Unfortunately, only a few manuscripts exist on the clinical implications of plantar shear. The purpose of this study was to compare global and regional peak plantar stress values in three groups; diabetic patients with neuropathy, d...

AS BLOOD FLOWS THROUGH the vascular network, it creates fluid mechanical forces that can be predicted based on established physical principles of fluid dynamics. The major components of flow-generated force in the vasculature include pressure and shear stress, both of which are imparted directly onto the vessel wall. The realization that different patterns (laminar vs. oscillatory), magnitudes ...

It is well known that a state of pure shear has distinct sets of basis vectors or coordinate systems: the principal axes, in which the stress σ is diagonal, and pure shear bases, in which diagσ = 0. The latter is commonly taken as the definition of pure shear, although a state of pure shear is more generally defined by trσ = 0. New results are presented that characterize all possible pure shear...

OBJECTIVE In endothelial cells exposed to unidirectional laminar shear stress, endothelial nitric oxide synthase transcription (eNOS), mRNA stability, and protein levels are enhanced. We have previously demonstrated that these changes are associated with increased 3' polyadenylation of eNOS mRNA. Here, we investigated the effect of laminar shear stress on the phosphorylation and localization of...

Reductions in fluid shear stress produce endothelium-dependent vasoconstriction and promote neointimal hyperplasia, but the intracellular signaling mechanisms involved in these processes are poorly understood. To examine whether decreases in fluid shear stress affect endothelial cytosolic pH, carboxy-seminaphthorhodafluor-1-loaded rat aortic endothelial cells were cultured in glass microcapilla...

The endothelial glycocalyx plays important roles in mechanotransduction. We recently investigated the distribution and interaction of glycocalyx components on statically cultured endothelial cells. In the present study, we further explored the unknown organization of the glycocalyx during early exposure (first 30 min) to shear stress and tested the hypothesis that proteoglycans with glycosamino...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE A recent randomized clinical trial on intracranial atherosclerosis was discontinued because of the higher frequency of stroke and death in the angioplasty and stent placement group than in the medical treatment group. An in-depth understanding of the relationship between biologic responses and flow dynamics is still required to identify the current limitations of intracra...

Hemodynamic forces, such as fluid shear stress, that act on the endothelial lining of the cardiovascular system can modulate the expression of an expanding number of genes crucial for homeostasis and the pathogenesis of vascular disease. A 6-bp core element (5'-GAGACC-3'), defined previously as a shear-stress response element is present in the promoters of many genes, including the PDGF B-chain...

BACKGROUND Previous studies have demonstrated that endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), in particular late EPCs, play important roles in endothelial maintenance and repair. Recent evidence has revealed shear stress as a key regulator for EPC differentiation. However, the underlying mechanisms regulating the shear stress-induced EPC differentiation have not been understood completely. The presen...