The aim of this study was to compare the characteristics of esophageal cortical evoked potentials (CEP) following electrical and mechanical stimulation in healthy subjects to evaluate the afferents involved in mediating esophageal sensation. Similarities in morphology and interpeak latencies of the CEP to electrical and mechanical stimulation suggest that they are mediated via similar pathways....

Efforts have been made to engineer knee meniscus tissue for injury repair, yet most attempts have been unsuccessful. Creating a cell source that resembles the complex, heterogeneous phenotype of the meniscus cell remains difficult. Stem cell differentiation has been investigated, mainly using bone marrow mesenchymal cells and biochemical means for differentiation, resulting in no solution. Mech...

Background: Integrins are a family of transmembrane proteins that allow communication between the extracellular matrix and the interior of cells. Chondrocytes, cells of articular cartilage, express integrins and these molecules appear to have a variety of roles including mechanotransduction. Integrins are known to associate with a number of accessory molecules such as CD147 that may act to regu...

Introduction: It is believed that Locus Coeruleus (LC) influences the sensory information processing. However, its role in cortical surround inhibitory mechanism is not understood. In this experiment, using controlled mechanical displacement of whiskers we investigated the effect of phasic electrical stimulation of LC on response of layer V barrel cortical neurons in anesthetized rat. Methods: ...

It was our objective to study the role of mechanical stimulation on fibronectin (FN) reorganization and recruitment by exposing fibroblasts to shear fluid flow and equibiaxial stretch. Mechanical stimulation was also combined with a Rho inhibitor to probe their coupled effects on FN. Mechanically stimulated cells revealed a localization of FN around the cell periphery as well as an increase in ...