Further information
Dr Gwendolyn Reilly, Department of Engineering Materials, Kroto Research Institute, University of Sheffield, presents this talk as part of the Department of Bioengineering Seminar Series: Spring 2010 on; “Mechanical signal transduction in bone tissue engineering.”
Abstract: It has been well demonstrated that bone cells respond to mechanical forces in the body and in vitro. In bone tissue engineering, researchers can take advantage of such mechanical responses to stimulate matrix production in bioreactor culture. What is less clear is how this signal is transmitted from a mechanical to a biochemical signal and whether the way cells respond to mechanical force in bioreactors is via the same mechanisms that occur in vivo. In our laboratory, we have developed a 3D culture model of tissue engineered bone in which bone marrow derived stem cells or mature osteoblasts are grown in a polyurethane scaffold and subjected to mechanical compression or fluid flow. We use this model to examine how bone cells respond to forces. In particular we are interested in the initial transduction of the mechanical force to a cellular signal. Recent evidence shows that the cell coat (glycocalyx) may play a role in transmitting this signal as does the primary cilium, a single solitary non-motile cilium found on all cells. We have shown that the primary cilium is involved in the mechanical response of bone cells to both fluid flow and compression in bioreactor culture in a 3D scaffold.
Biography: Gwendolen Reilly was appointed as Lecturer in Tissue Engineering in 2004. Previously she was a Research Assistant Professor in Bioengineering at the University of Illinois, Chicago. She has undertaken post-doctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State College of Medicine and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. She received her DPhil in Biology at the University of York, specializing in bone biomechanics. Gwen combines her previous experience of cell biomechanics, biomaterials and cell differentiation to examine the effects of mechanical stimulation in the tissue engineering of bone and cartilage. Mechanical stimuli examined include dynamic compression; stretch and fluid flow induced shear stresses. She is interested in how skeletal cells respond to a mechanical stimulus by organizing the proteins and mineral they secrete in a way which enhances the strength of the matrix. This information can then be used to manipulate tissue engineered structures in order to induce structurally sound matrix formation. This research encompasses study of the mechanical properties of biomaterial scaffolds, cell-material interactions, cell mechanics and cell signaling. The results of this research will have applications in orthopaedic and dental medicine, where clinicians are looking for improved methods to repair bone and cartilage.
For more information please contact Jennifer Siggers