A Threshold Shear Force for Calcium Influx in an Astrocyte Model of Traumatic Brain Injury.

ABSTRACT: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) refers to brain damage resulting from external mechanical force, such as a blast or crash. Our current understanding of TBI is derived mainly from in vivo studies that show measurable biological effects on neurons sampled after TBI. Little is known about the early responses of brain cells during stimuli and which features of the stimulus are most critical to cell injury. We generated defined shear stress in a microfluidic chamber using a fast pressure servo and examined the intracellular Ca(2+) levels in cultured adult astrocytes. Shear stress increased intracellular Ca(2+) depending on the magnitude, duration, and rise time of the stimulus. Square pulses with a fast rise time (∼2 ms) caused transient increases in intracellular Ca(2+), but when the rise time wa

SUBMITTER: Maneshi MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4492552 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature