Electrical Stimulation Changes Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Orientation and Cytoskeleton Organization

Electricity, as a physical stimulus, is recently becoming an attractive tool for tissue engineering. In this study we simulated the electrical field delivered by a simplified electro-bioreactor, using finite element analysis. In addition, human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) were cultured in an electro-bioreactor and an electrical field of 100 mV/mm for 1 hour per day was applied. The cell profile, orientation and cytoskeleton changes by CellProfiler was analysed at 1, 2, 3 and 7 days. The cytoskeleton texture of cells exposed to electrical stimulation was also compared with cells exposed to chemical stimulation during an early phase of osteogenic differentiation. Results showed that hMSCs orientation and cytoskeleton actin filaments reorganize perpendicular to the electrical field in the vicinity of the cathode area at day 7. This finding and analysis method has the potential to provide a framework for future studies of mechanism underlying the changes in cell profile in electrical fields.