Innovation of Vascular Engineering by Mechanomedicine

Abstract

This article describes how physical forces contribute to development, physiology, and pathology of vascular cells, focusing on endothelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells. Based on these basic understandings of the mechanobiology, we discuss mechanomedicine, an application of the mechanobiology to medicine. Basic knowledge about cellular responses, such as cellular signal transduction pathway, gene expression, and cytoskeletal remodeling, to mechanical stimuli is important for understanding the pathology of vascular diseases including atherosclerosis. Introducing the knowledge of the vascular mechanobiology will not only contribute to the development of regenerative medicine using pluripotent stem cells but also provide a way to prevent diseases caused by thromboembolisms, such as myocardial and cerebral infarctions. IntroductionMankind has made remarkable advances in machine technology, which have enabled the realization of the creation of not only devices that act on the external world but also artificial organs that complement or replace the diminished functions of organs in our bodies. Functions of machine technology-derived organs (e.g.,