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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0NPJ Microgravity

Simulated microgravity with physiological shear reveals endothelial disruption in a dual-stimulus bioreactor

  • Nikolaos Pipis1,2
  • Rachel Garner2
  • Christopher Ludtka2
  • Josephine B. Allen3,4
4 affiliations
  1. 1Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer Research, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle, WA USA
  2. 2J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL USA
  3. 3Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL USA
  4. 4Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI USA
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Abstract

Microgravity alters vascular homeostasis by disrupting mechanical cues critical to endothelial function. Here, we report a benchtop bioreactor that integrates simulated microgravity with physiological laminar shear stress ( ~ 3 dyn/cm²) to examine acute endothelial responses (16 h exposure). Using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), we observed cytoskeletal disorganization, loss of vascular endothelial cadherin junctions, and altered secretion of angiogenic factors, including Angiopoietin 2 (Angpt-2), Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), and Platelet-Derived Growth Factor (PDGF). This dual-stimulus platform bridges static microgravity and flow-driven endothelial models, enabling mechanistic studies of vascular dysfunction in spaceflight-relevant conditions and offering a framework for standardized microgravity-flow experimentation.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{pipis2026simulated,
  title = {{Simulated microgravity with physiological shear reveals endothelial disruption in a dual-stimulus bioreactor}},
  author = {Nikolaos Pipis and Rachel Garner and Christopher Ludtka and Josephine B. Allen},
  journal = {NPJ Microgravity},
  year = {2026},
  month = jul,
  doi = {10.1038/s41526-026-00627-8},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-026-00627-8},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Simulated microgravity with physiological shear reveals endothelial disruption in a dual-stimulus bioreactor
AU  - Nikolaos Pipis
AU  - Rachel Garner
AU  - Christopher Ludtka
AU  - Josephine B. Allen
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/11
JO  - NPJ Microgravity
DO  - 10.1038/s41526-026-00627-8
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-026-00627-8
AB  - Microgravity alters vascular homeostasis by disrupting mechanical cues critical to endothelial function. Here, we report a benchtop bioreactor that integrates simulated microgravity with physiological laminar shear stress ( ~ 3 dyn/cm²) to examine acute endothelial responses (16 h exposure). Using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), we observed cytoskeletal disorganization, loss of vascular endothelial cadherin junctions, and altered secretion of angiogenic factors, including Angiopoietin 2 (Angpt-2), Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), and Platelet-Derived Growth Factor (PDGF). This dual-stimulus platform bridges static microgravity and flow-driven endothelial models, enabling mechanistic studies of vascular dysfunction in spaceflight-relevant conditions and offering a framework for standardized microgravity-flow experimentation.
SN  - 2373-8065
ER  -