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A Lesson in Cartilage Therapy: Do Chondrocytes Utilize Mechanical Energy from Exercise for Cell Maintenance and Growth?

A. Miller [1], H. Viljoen [1], A. Chama [2], T. Louw [2],
[1] Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
[2] Department of Chemical Engineering, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Published in 2015
  • Using COMSOL Multiphysics® Acoustics Module: Chondrocytes modeled attached to a plane (to mimic in vivo constraints) are shown to resonate near 5MHz. At resonance, the mechanical energy density in the nucleus is two times higher than in the cytoplasm.
  • Impact exercise is modeled as traveling pressure pulses and shown to cause cells to vibrate primarily at the resonance frequency.
  • Two MAPK signaling pathways, the transport of pERK across the nuclear envelope and gene transcription mechanisms are examined. The model posits that higher mechanical energy density in the nucleus at resonance increases the binding rate of the transcription factor to chromatin.
  • Models provide a comprehensive description of chondrocyte responses to US that matches experimental results.

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