Rheological behavior of fresh bone marrow and the effects of storage

The progression of several diseases, such as osteoporosis and diabetes, are associated with changes in marrow composition and physiology. As these diseases are affected by aging and activity, the biomechanical properties and mechanobiology of marrow may play a role in their progression. Bone marrow is comprised primarily of cells, and provides a niche for several mechanosensitive cell lineages. The mechanical signals imparted to the cells depend on their interaction with one another, the extracellular matrix, and the intercellular fluid. At a macroscopic scale, these interactions manifest as viscosity in marrow. Marrow viscosity has been measured in human and bovine bone. However, a large range of storage, retrieval, and measurement techniques has resulted in inconsistent data. To provide physiologically relevant data, marrow samples from young adult pigs were harvested and tested within less than 8h of slaughter. The viscosity was over 100Pas at a shear rate of 1s(-1), and decreased with shear rate according to a power law. However, the marrow did not exhibit a measurable yield stress as some complex fluids do. The viscosity of samples that had been frozen and thawed prior to testing was lower by an order of magnitude. The difference in properties was associated with a loss of integrity of the marrow adipocyte membranes. Previous reports of bone marrow viscosity have shown inconsistent results, which may be due to different storage and handling prior to testing. The higher viscosity compared to previous reports would impact poroelastic models of bone, and suggests that the stress on marrow cells during whole bone loading may be higher than previously believed.