Integrating mechanical cues with engineered platforms to explore cardiopulmonary development and disease
Donia W. Ahmed,
Madeline K. Eiken,
Samuel J. DePalma,
Adam S. Helms,
Rachel L. Zemans,
Jason R. Spence,
Brendon M. Baker,
Claudia Loebel
Affiliations
Donia W. Ahmed
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Lurie Biomedical Engineering Building, 1101 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
Madeline K. Eiken
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Lurie Biomedical Engineering Building, 1101 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
Samuel J. DePalma
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Lurie Biomedical Engineering Building, 1101 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
Adam S. Helms
Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
Rachel L. Zemans
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine – Gastroenterology, University of Michigan, 109 Zina Pitcher Place, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
Jason R. Spence
Department of Internal Medicine – Gastroenterology, University of Michigan, 109 Zina Pitcher Place, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
Brendon M. Baker
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Lurie Biomedical Engineering Building, 1101 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
Claudia Loebel
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Lurie Biomedical Engineering Building, 1101 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Michigan, North Campus Research Complex, 2800 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Corresponding author
Summary: Mechanical forces provide critical biological signals to cells during healthy and aberrant organ development as well as during disease processes in adults. Within the cardiopulmonary system, mechanical forces, such as shear, compressive, and tensile forces, act across various length scales, and dysregulated forces are often a leading cause of disease initiation and progression such as in bronchopulmonary dysplasia and cardiomyopathies. Engineered in vitro models have supported studies of mechanical forces in a number of tissue and disease-specific contexts, thus enabling new mechanistic insights into cardiopulmonary development and disease. This review first provides fundamental examples where mechanical forces operate at multiple length scales to ensure precise lung and heart function. Next, we survey recent engineering platforms and tools that have provided new means to probe and modulate mechanical forces across in vitro and in vivo settings. Finally, the potential for interdisciplinary collaborations to inform novel therapeutic approaches for a number of cardiopulmonary diseases are discussed.
