Mechanisms for flow-enhanced cell adhesion

Ann Biomed Eng. 2008 Apr;36(4):604-21. doi: 10.1007/s10439-008-9464-5. Epub 2008 Feb 26.

Abstract

Cell adhesion is mediated by specific receptor-ligand bonds. In several biological systems, increasing flow has been observed to enhance cell adhesion despite the increasing dislodging fluid shear forces. Flow-enhanced cell adhesion includes several aspects: flow augments the initial tethering of flowing cells to a stationary surface, slows the velocity and increases the regularity of rolling cells, and increases the number of rollingly adherent cells. Mechanisms for this intriguing phenomenon may include transport-dependent acceleration of bond formation and force-dependent deceleration of bond dissociation. The former includes three distinct transport modes: sliding of cell bottom on the surface, Brownian motion of the cell, and rotational diffusion of the interacting molecules. The latter involves a recently demonstrated counterintuitive behavior called catch bonds where force prolongs rather than shortens the lifetimes of receptor-ligand bonds. In this article, we summarize our recently published data that used dimensional analysis and mutational analysis to elucidate the above mechanisms for flow-enhanced leukocyte adhesion mediated by L-selectin-ligand interactions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Blood Flow Velocity / physiology*
  • Blood Pressure / physiology*
  • Cell Adhesion / physiology*
  • Cell Movement
  • Computer Simulation
  • Humans
  • Leukocytes / physiology*
  • Mechanotransduction, Cellular / physiology*
  • Models, Cardiovascular*
  • Shear Strength