Effect of electrical stimulation on growth of endothelial cell

Exogenous electrical stimulation plays an important role on endothelial cells and vessels. Study on the influences of electrical stimulation on endothelial cells might be helpful to regulate cell metabolism on a certain extent, or provide new ideas for vascular tissue engineering. A bioreactor that can apply electrical stimulation was designed on the basis of parallel-plate chamber. To investigate possible effects of electrical stimulation on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), the different levels and duration's electrical stimulations were applied to HUVECs in culture. The cell morphology was observed by microscopy and the levels of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene were measured by RT-PCR. Different levels and durations of electrical stimulation produce different effects on eNOS gene expression. The eNOS gene expressions of the experimental group cells under the voltage of 50mV, 100mV, 150mV and 200mV were significantly lower than that of the control group after 3-hour electrical stimulation, while the eNOS gene levels of the experimental group cells in 6-hour electrical stimulation is higher than that of the control group under all tested voltages. After 12-hour stimulation, the eNOS gene levels of HUVECs decreased under 50mV, and then gradually increased until 200mV. The low voltage of 6h electrical stimulation is more appropriate for HUVECs growth.