This three-year award provides support for US-France cooperative research on the effects of mechanical forces on molecular events in endothelial cells, and leukocyte-endothelial interactions. Endothelial cells line the inside of blood and lymph vessels, the heart and other cavities. The collaboration involves the research group of Shu Chien of the University of California, San Diego and Xiong Wang of the National Polytechnic Institute of Lorraine in Nancy, France. The objectives are to elucidate the effects of secondary flow and flow separation on signal transduction and gene expression in vascular endothelial cells, and to investigate the molecular biomechanical basis for rolling of leukocytes on endothelial cells. The US research group brings to this collaboration expertise on the coupling of mechanical forces and gene regulation in vascular cells. This is complemented by French expertise in biorheology. The project will advance understanding of the fundamental biological processes of mechanochemical transduction and cell-cell interaction.
