Revealing the mechanisms underlying the intracellular calcium responses in vascular endothelial cells (VECs) induced by mechanical stimuli contributes to a better understanding for vascular diseases, including hypertension, atherosclerosis, and aneurysm. Combining with experimental measurement and Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation, we developed a mechanobiological model to investigate the intracellular [Ca²⁺] response in a single VEC being squeezed through narrow microfluidic channel. The time-dependent cellular surface tension dynamics was quantified throughout the squeezing process. In our model, the various Ca²⁺ signaling pathways activated by mechanical stimulation is fully considered. The simulation results of our model exhibited well agreement with our experimental results. By using the model, we theoretically explored the mechanism of the two-peak intracellular [Ca²⁺] response in single VEC being squeezed through narrow channel and made some testable predictions for guiding experiment in the future.

揭示机械刺激诱导的血管内皮细胞 (VEC) 细胞内钙反应的潜在机制有助于更好地了解血管疾病，包括高血压、动脉粥样硬化和动脉瘤。结合实验测量和计算流体动力学模拟，我们开发了一个力学生物学模型来研究通过狭窄微流体通道挤压的单个 VEC 中的细胞内 [Ca ²⁺ ] 响应。在整个挤压过程中对时间依赖性细胞表面张力动力学进行量化。在我们的模型中，各种 Ca ²⁺充分考虑了机械刺激激活的信号通路。我们模型的模拟结果与我们的实验结果非常吻合。利用该模型，我们从理论上探讨了单个VEC通过窄通道挤压细胞内双峰[Ca ²⁺ ]反应的机制，并为指导今后的实验做出了一些可检验的预测。