Fluid flow impacts endothelial-monocyte interactions in a model of vascular inflammatory fibrosis

Abstract The aberrant vascular response associated with tendon injury results in circulating immune cell infiltration and a chronic inflammatory feedback loop leading to poor healing outcomes. Studying this dysregulated tendon repair response in human pathophysiology has been historically challengin...

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Main Authors: Isabelle Linares, Kaihua Chen, Ava Saffren, Mehran Mansouri, Vinay V. Abhyankar, Benjamin L. Miller, Stefano Begolo, Hani A. Awad, James L. McGrath
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-01-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-85987-z
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author Isabelle Linares
Kaihua Chen
Ava Saffren
Mehran Mansouri
Vinay V. Abhyankar
Benjamin L. Miller
Stefano Begolo
Hani A. Awad
James L. McGrath
author_facet Isabelle Linares
Kaihua Chen
Ava Saffren
Mehran Mansouri
Vinay V. Abhyankar
Benjamin L. Miller
Stefano Begolo
Hani A. Awad
James L. McGrath
author_sort Isabelle Linares
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The aberrant vascular response associated with tendon injury results in circulating immune cell infiltration and a chronic inflammatory feedback loop leading to poor healing outcomes. Studying this dysregulated tendon repair response in human pathophysiology has been historically challenging due to the reliance on animal models. To address this, our group developed the human tendon-on-a-chip (hToC) to model cellular interactions in the injured tendon microenvironment; however, this model lacked the key element of physiological flow in the vascular compartment. Here, we leveraged the modularity of our platform to create a fluidic hToC that enables the study of circulating immune cell and vascular crosstalk in a tendon injury model. Under physiological shear stress consistent with postcapillary venules, we found a significant increase in the endothelial leukocyte activation marker intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), as well as enhanced adhesion and transmigration of circulating monocytes across the endothelial barrier. The addition of tissue macrophages to the tendon compartment further increased the degree of circulating monocyte infiltration into the tissue matrix. Our findings demonstrate the importance of adding physiological flow to the human tendon-on-a-chip, and more generally, the significance of flow for modeling immune cell interactions in tissue inflammation and disease.
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spelling doaj-art-f85fd24c9a52498b80d15fa4a1e232e82025-01-26T12:27:19ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-01-0115111810.1038/s41598-025-85987-zFluid flow impacts endothelial-monocyte interactions in a model of vascular inflammatory fibrosisIsabelle Linares0Kaihua Chen1Ava Saffren2Mehran Mansouri3Vinay V. Abhyankar4Benjamin L. Miller5Stefano Begolo6Hani A. Awad7James L. McGrath8Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of RochesterDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of RochesterDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of RochesterDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Rochester Institute of TechnologyDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Rochester Institute of TechnologyDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of RochesterALine IncDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of RochesterDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of RochesterAbstract The aberrant vascular response associated with tendon injury results in circulating immune cell infiltration and a chronic inflammatory feedback loop leading to poor healing outcomes. Studying this dysregulated tendon repair response in human pathophysiology has been historically challenging due to the reliance on animal models. To address this, our group developed the human tendon-on-a-chip (hToC) to model cellular interactions in the injured tendon microenvironment; however, this model lacked the key element of physiological flow in the vascular compartment. Here, we leveraged the modularity of our platform to create a fluidic hToC that enables the study of circulating immune cell and vascular crosstalk in a tendon injury model. Under physiological shear stress consistent with postcapillary venules, we found a significant increase in the endothelial leukocyte activation marker intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), as well as enhanced adhesion and transmigration of circulating monocytes across the endothelial barrier. The addition of tissue macrophages to the tendon compartment further increased the degree of circulating monocyte infiltration into the tissue matrix. Our findings demonstrate the importance of adding physiological flow to the human tendon-on-a-chip, and more generally, the significance of flow for modeling immune cell interactions in tissue inflammation and disease.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-85987-zFluidic shear stressVascular barriersMonocyte transmigrationInflammationFibrosisMicrophysiological systems
spellingShingle Isabelle Linares
Kaihua Chen
Ava Saffren
Mehran Mansouri
Vinay V. Abhyankar
Benjamin L. Miller
Stefano Begolo
Hani A. Awad
James L. McGrath
Fluid flow impacts endothelial-monocyte interactions in a model of vascular inflammatory fibrosis
Scientific Reports
Fluidic shear stress
Vascular barriers
Monocyte transmigration
Inflammation
Fibrosis
Microphysiological systems
title Fluid flow impacts endothelial-monocyte interactions in a model of vascular inflammatory fibrosis
title_full Fluid flow impacts endothelial-monocyte interactions in a model of vascular inflammatory fibrosis
title_fullStr Fluid flow impacts endothelial-monocyte interactions in a model of vascular inflammatory fibrosis
title_full_unstemmed Fluid flow impacts endothelial-monocyte interactions in a model of vascular inflammatory fibrosis
title_short Fluid flow impacts endothelial-monocyte interactions in a model of vascular inflammatory fibrosis
title_sort fluid flow impacts endothelial monocyte interactions in a model of vascular inflammatory fibrosis
topic Fluidic shear stress
Vascular barriers
Monocyte transmigration
Inflammation
Fibrosis
Microphysiological systems
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-85987-z
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