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Updated: Jul 14, 2026
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Human Saphenous Vein Endothelial Cell Isolation and Exposure to Controlled Levels of Shear Stress and Stretch
Published on: April 21, 2023
Mechanical Loading Induces Distinct and Shared Responses in Endothelial and Muscle Cells and Reveals Exercise-Like
Sakari Mäntyselkä1, Erik Niemi1, Laura Ylä-Outinen1
1Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, NeuroMuscular Research Center, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Summary
Mechanical stretch mimics exercise, causing unique molecular changes in muscle and blood vessel cells. Exercise impacts cell behavior and metabolism, revealing links between mechanical forces, serine synthesis, and cell quiescence.
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Cell Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Skeletal muscles and blood vessels experience mechanical forces during exercise.
- Understanding cellular responses to mechanical stimuli is crucial for exercise science.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the acute molecular responses of human endothelial and skeletal muscle cells to cyclic mechanical stretch, mimicking exercise.
- To identify shared and cell type-specific transcriptomic and metabolomic alterations induced by mechanical loading.
Main Methods:
- Subjecting human endothelial and skeletal muscle cells to cyclic mechanical stretch.
- Analyzing transcriptomic and metabolomic profiles.
- Utilizing 13C-(U)-glucose tracing to study metabolic pathways.
- Investigating the role of phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH) in serine synthesis.
Main Results:
- Mechanical loading induced both shared and distinct molecular changes in endothelial and muscle cells, mirroring in vivo exercise responses.
- Both cell types released acetate, partly through a reactive oxygen species-dependent mechanism.
- Endothelial cells showed repressed electron transport chain genes, increased barrier integrity, and attenuated proliferation.
- Skeletal muscle cells upregulated electron transport chain genes.
- Endothelial cells exhibited increased serine biosynthesis from glucose, with PHGDH targeting confirming its role in anabolism.
Conclusions:
- Mechanical loading effectively recapitulates key exercise-induced molecular effects in endothelial and muscle cells.
- A potential link exists between mechanical stimuli, serine synthesis pathways, and the induction of endothelial cell quiescence.
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