Kimiko Yamamoto
Lecturer,Department
of Biomedical Engineering ,Graduate School of Medicine,The University of Tokyo
Vascular endothelial cells (ECs),
covering the inner surface of blood vessels, are in direct
contact with blood flow and are exposed to shear stress,
the frictional force exerted by flowing blood.
ECs recognize changes in shear
stress and transmit signals to the interior of the cell,
leading to cellular responses which play important roles
in blood-flow-dependent phenomena such as vascular tone
control, angiogenesis, and vascular remodeling.
However, the molecular mechanisms
of shear-stress-sensing have not been identified. Therefore,
in this study, mechanotransduction in vascular cells will
be analyzed at a nano-scale order utilizing the most up-to-date
imaging techniques.
Homepage URL: http://bme-sysphysiol.m.u-tokyo.ac.jp/