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Understanding endothelial glycocalyx function under flow shear stress from a molecular perspective

Jiang, XZ; Lu, Y; Luo, KH; Ventikos, Y; (2019) Understanding endothelial glycocalyx function under flow shear stress from a molecular perspective. Biorheology 10.3233/BIR-180193. (In press). Green open access

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: The endothelial glycocalyx plays a pivotal role in regulating blood flow, filtering blood components, sensing and transducing mechanical signals. These functions are intimately related to its dynamics at the molecular level. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research is to establish the relationship between the functions of the endothelial glycocalyx and its dynamics at the molecular level. METHODS: To establish such a relationship, large-scale molecular dynamics simulations were undertaken to mimic the dynamics of the glycocalyx and its components in the presence of flow shear stresses. RESULTS: First, motions of the glycocalyx core protein and the pertinent subdomains were scrutinised. Three-directional movements of the glycocalyx core protein were observed, although the flow was imposed only in the x direction. Such an observation contributes to understanding the glycocalyx redistribution as reported in experiments. Unsynchronised motion of the core protein subdomains was also spotted, which provides an alternative explanation of macroscopic phenomena. Moreover, the dynamics, root-mean-square-deviations and conformational changes of the sugar chains were investigated. Based on the findings, an alternative force transmission pathway, the role of sugar chains, and potential influence on signalling transduction pathway were proposed and discussed. CONCLUSIONS: This study relates the functions of the glycocalyx with its microscopic dynamics, which fills a knowledge gap about the links between different scales.

Type: Article
Title: Understanding endothelial glycocalyx function under flow shear stress from a molecular perspective
Location: Netherlands
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.3233/BIR-180193
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.3233/BIR-180193
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Molecular dynamics, deformation, mechanotransduction, pathway, redistribution
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Mechanical Engineering
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10074046
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