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Corroboration of mechanobiological simulations of tissue differentiation in an in vivo bone chamber using a lattice‐modeling approach
Author(s) -
Khayyeri Hanifeh,
Checa Sara,
Tägil Magnus,
Prendergast Patrick J.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of orthopaedic research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.041
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1554-527X
pISSN - 0736-0266
DOI - 10.1002/jor.20926
Subject(s) - finite element method , in vivo , biological system , mesenchymal stem cell , cellular differentiation , mechanobiology , mechanics , stochastic modelling , biomedical engineering , computer science , biology , physics , mathematics , structural engineering , anatomy , engineering , microbiology and biotechnology , statistics , biochemistry , gene
Abstract It is well established that the mechanical environment modulates tissue differentiation, and a number of mechanoregulatory theories for describing the process have been proposed. In this study, simulations of an in vivo bone chamber experiment were performed that allowed direct comparison with experimental data. A mechanoregulation theory for mesenchymal stem cell differentiation based on a combination of fluid flow and shear strain (computed using finite element analysis) was implemented to predict tissue differentiation inside mechanically controlled bone chambers inserted into rat tibae. To simulate cell activity, a lattice approach with stochastic cell migration, proliferation, and selected differentiation was adopted; because of its stochastic nature, each run of the simulation gave a somewhat different result. Simulations predicted the load‐dependency of the tissue differentiation inside the chamber and a qualitative agreement with histological data; however, the full variability found between specimens in the experiment could not be predicted by the mechanoregulation algorithm. This result raises the question whether tissue differentiation predictions can be linked to genetic variability in animal populations. © 2009 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 27:1659–1666, 2009