Uniaxial and equibiaxial strains have different effects on the time course of the activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase and morphology of endothelial cells

A study was conducted to determine the effects of pulsatile uniaxal and equibiaxial strains on the time course of c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation in cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) and correlate the results with changes in cell morphology. BAECs were subjected to either uniaxial strain or equibiaxial strain at a frequency of 1 Hz. Results suggest that the sustained JNK activation by pulsatile equibiaxial strain is associated with an inability of the cells to remodel to a shape that would relieve the imposed strain.

Uniaxial and equibiaxial strains have different effects on the time course of the activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase and morphology of endothelial cells Academic Article