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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 31, 2026

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Nickel ions inhibit α-actin expression and decrease aspect ratio of rat vascular smooth muscle cells in vitro.

Brad Winn1, C Derrick Quarles, R Kenneth Marcus

  • 1Department of Bioengineering, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA.

Metallomics : Integrated Biometal Science
|July 19, 2011
PubMed
Summary

This study evaluated Nitinol metallic biomaterial biocompatibility by measuring nickel ion concentrations and vascular smooth muscle cell responses. Nickel ions altered cell morphology and reduced alpha-actin expression but did not significantly impact proliferation.

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Area of Science:

  • Biomaterials Science
  • Cell Biology
  • Medical Device Research

Background:

  • Traditional in vitro biocompatibility testing involves direct material-sample cell culture.
  • Evaluating metallic biomaterials requires understanding ion release and cellular effects.
  • Nitinol is a common metallic biomaterial used in endovascular stents.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a novel in vitro method for assessing metallic biomaterial biocompatibility.
  • To quantify nickel ion concentrations released from Nitinol.
  • To correlate ion concentrations with vascular smooth muscle cell responses.

Main Methods:

  • Corrosion of Nitinol wires to create conditioned media.
  • Quantification of released metallic ion concentrations.
  • Cell culture of vascular smooth muscle cells exposed to varying ion concentrations.
  • Assessment of cell morphology (aspect ratio) and alpha-actin expression via immunostaining.

Main Results:

  • Nickel ions released from Nitinol induced morphological changes in vascular smooth muscle cells, suggesting a shift to a synthetic phenotype.
  • Alpha-actin expression decreased by approximately 26% at high nickel ion concentrations, indicating impaired contractile function.
  • Cell proliferation remained unaffected by the tested ion concentrations.

Conclusions:

  • The study presents a reproducible method for metallic biomaterial biocompatibility testing based on ion concentration.
  • Nickel ion release from Nitinol can negatively impact vascular smooth muscle cell function, specifically contractility.
  • Further research is needed to fully understand the long-term implications of these findings for endovascular stent performance.