In vitro exposure of endothelial cells to mechanical vibrations

Mechanobiology of vascular cells plays an important role in vascular remodelling and stenosis formation. Mechanical stresses acting on vascular wall may derive from mechanical vibrations. This preliminary study aims to investigate the effects of vibrations on endothelial cells (ECs) exploiting an experimental setup capable of expose cells to mechanical vibrations obtained by a 50 Hz sound-generated pressure wave. To validate the efficacy of the system, a preliminary cell viability evaluation was performed on ECs exposed for 48 hours to vibrations. A mean displacement of 71 µm was measured and results showed consistency between sound and culture dish vibrations during the time course. Phase-contrast analysis of the stimulated and unstimulated cell cultures showed that soundinduced vibrations caused changes in ECs typical cobblestone shape and determined their detachment from the substrate, with a number of death cells higher than the static control. Alamar Blue assay highlighted a significant reduction in the metabolic activity of live cells after the mechanical stimulation, compared with that of the static culture.