The combined effect of dynamic conditioning followed by fluid shear stress on an EC-SMC collagen gel co-culture

Cell-mediated effects of cyclic circumferential stretch followed by fluid shear stress on an endothelial cell (EC) and smooth muscle cell (SMC) seeded collagen gel construct. Human aortic SMCs were seeded into a reconstituted type I collagen gel for form a tubular construct. The tubes were then exposed to 10% cyclic stretch for two days using a bioreactor system. Human aortic ECs were seeded onto the lumenal surface of the tubes and exposed to laminar flow for 48 hours. It was observed that conditioned constructs showed circumferentially oriented SMCs and collagen fibrils.