Huang Y, Qian JY, Cheng H, Li XM. Effects of shear stress on differentiation of stem cells into endothelial cells. World J Stem Cells 2021; 13(7): 894-913 [PMID: 34367483 DOI: 10.4252/wjsc.v13.i7.894]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Xiao-Ming Li, PhD, Professor, Key Laboratory for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Ministry of Education, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, No. 37 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China. x.m.li@hotmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Article-Type of This Article
Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Stem Cells. Jul 26, 2021; 13(7): 894-913 Published online Jul 26, 2021. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v13.i7.894
Effects of shear stress on differentiation of stem cells into endothelial cells
Yan Huang, Jia-Yi Qian, Hong Cheng, Xiao-Ming Li
Yan Huang, Jia-Yi Qian, Hong Cheng, Xiao-Ming Li, Key Laboratory for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Ministry of Education, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
Author contributions: Huang Y organized the structure of the manuscript, summarized the tables, and wrote the first half of the manuscript; Qian JY organized the structure of the manuscript, made the figures, and wrote the second half of the manuscript; Cheng H made the figures; Li XM supervised and administered the project; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported byNational Key R&D Program of China, No. 2017YFC1104703; National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 31771042 and No. 11302020.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no competing interests regarding the publication of this paper.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xiao-Ming Li, PhD, Professor, Key Laboratory for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Ministry of Education, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, No. 37 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China. x.m.li@hotmail.com
Received: February 27, 2021 Peer-review started: February 27, 2021 First decision: April 6, 2021 Revised: April 20, 2021 Accepted: June 22, 2021 Article in press: June 22, 2021 Published online: July 26, 2021
Abstract
Stem cell transplantation is an appealing potential therapy for vascular diseases and an indispensable key step in vascular tissue engineering. Substantial effort has been made to differentiate stem cells toward vascular cell phenotypes, including endothelial cells (ECs) and smooth muscle cells. The microenvironment of vascular cells not only contains biochemical factors that influence differentiation but also exerts hemodynamic forces, such as shear stress and cyclic strain. More recently, studies have shown that shear stress can influence the differentiation of stem cells toward ECs. A deep understanding of the responses and underlying mechanisms involved in this process is essential for clinical translation. This review highlights current data supporting the role of shear stress in stem cell differentiation into ECs. Potential mechanisms and signaling cascades for transducing shear stress into a biological signal are proposed. Further study of stem cell responses to shear stress will be necessary to apply stem cells for pharmacological applications and cardiovascular implants in the realm of regenerative medicine.
Core Tip: Stem cells and shear stress are very important for the success of stem cell-based therapy for vascular diseases. This review highlights current data supporting the role of shear stress in stem cell differentiation into endothelial cells. Further, potential mechanisms and signaling cascades for transducing shear stress into a biological signal are proposed. Further study of stem cell responses to shear stress is necessary to utilize stem cells in pharmacological applications and cardiovascular implants in the realm of regenerative medicine.
