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A novel perspective on neuron study: damaging and promoting effects in different neurons induced by mechanical stress

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Abstract

A growing volume of experimental evidence demonstrates that mechanical stress plays a significant role in growth, proliferation, apoptosis, gene expression, electrophysiological properties and many other aspects of neurons. In this review, first, the mechanical microenvironment and properties of neurons under in vivo conditions are introduced and analyzed. Second, research works in recent decades on the effects of different mechanical forces, especially compression and tension, on various neurons, including dorsal root ganglion neurons, retinal ganglion cells, cerebral cortex neurons, hippocampus neurons, neural stem cells, and other neurons, are summarized. Previous research results demonstrate that mechanical stress can not only injure neurons by damaging their morphology, impacting their electrophysiological characteristics and gene expression, but also promote neuron self-repair. Finally, some future perspectives in neuron research are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Key Basic Research Project (Project “973”) (2014CB541600) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2015CDJZR) and funded by 2014 Chongqing University Postgraduates’ Innovation Project (Project Number:CYS14004).

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  1. Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Shapingba Street 174, Chongqing, 404100, China

    Yazhou Wang, Wei Wang, Zong Li, Shilei Hao & Bochu Wang

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  1. Yazhou Wang
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  2. Wei Wang
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Correspondence to Yazhou Wang.

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Wang, Y., Wang, W., Li, Z. et al. A novel perspective on neuron study: damaging and promoting effects in different neurons induced by mechanical stress. Biomech Model Mechanobiol 15, 1019–1027 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10237-015-0743-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10237-015-0743-4

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