Objective To study the main mechanotransduction area and to estimate the overall shear deformation of rat osteoblasts in shear stress loading experiment based on data acquired from the in vitro rat osteoblast experimental, and to study the effects of four-point bending medium flow generated shear stress on cells. Methods Viscoelastic mechanics theory was used in the calculation process, the standard viscoelastic model was adopted for cells, and shear force on the cellular surface was simplified to be uniform. Results The cellular deformation caused by shear force was about one-tenth of that from tensile loading experiment which induced equivalent biological response. Conclusion In terms of mechanical stimulus induced biological responds, the mechanical transduction caused by cellular deformation in shear stress loading experiment is negligible, and the main transduction area is in the cellular membranes experiencing shear stress.

A generally realized phenomenon in the suction experiment of cells is that if the aspiration pressure is larger than a certain threshold, cell flows continuously into the pipette. The point of the threshold aspiration pressure at which the cell can still be held in a stable equilibrium is called the critical point of aspiration. Here we represent a theoretical analysis of the equilibrium behavior and stability of cell by liquid drop model. In the method of analysis, the areal change due to a small movement deltaL of the portion of the membrane in pipette is given to the first approximation. The threshold pressure and the critical point are shown as simple formulas of the model parameters and inner relative radius of pipette. The results derived from formulas are consistent with rigorous ones by numerical computation in the approximate range.
Cells ; Models, Theoretical ; Pressure ; Suction ; instrumentation

The advance of experimental cell division and proliferation in the field of cell biomechanics is presented in this paper. The emphasis is placed on the research in the mechanics mechanism of cleavage furrow and in the measurement of constricting force about cleavage furrow.
Biomechanical Phenomena ; Cell Division ; physiology ; Cytokinesis ; physiology ; Humans

As the basis of cell proliferation, cytokinesis involves the division of the cytoplasm and the plasma membrane into two. In this paper a few models on the active deformation mechanism during cytokinesis process are presented. Discussions are made onvarious models, conclusions, differences between the numerical results and the corresponding experimental results.
Animals ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Cell Proliferation ; Computer Simulation ; Cytokinesis ; physiology ; Humans ; Models, Biological