Interstitial fluid flow: simulation of mechanical environment of cells in the interosseous membrane

Abstract

In vitro experiments have shown that subtle fluid flow environment plays a significant role in living biological tissues, while there is no in vivo practical dynamical measurement of the interstitial fluid flow velocity. On the basis of a new finding that capillaries and collagen fibrils in the interosseous membrane form a parallel array, we set up a porous media model simulating the flow field with FLUENT software, studied the shear stress on interstitial cells' surface due to the interstitial fluid flow, and analyzed the effect of flow on protein space distribution around the cells. The numerical simulation results show that the parallel nature of capillaries could lead to directional interstitial fluid flow in the direction of capillaries. Interstitial fluid flow would induce shear stress on the membrane of interstitial cells, up to 30 Pa or so, which reaches or exceeds the threshold values of cells' biological response observed in vitro. Interstitial fluid flow would induce nonuniform spacial distribution of secretion protein of mast cells. Shear tress on cells could be affected by capillary parameters such as the distance between the adjacent capillaries, blood pressure and the permeability coefficient of capillary's wall. The interstitial pressure and the interstitial porosity could also affect the shear stress on cells. In conclusion, numerical simulation provides an effective way for in vivo dynamic interstitial velocity research, helps to set up the vivid subtle interstitial flow environment of cells, and is beneficial to understanding the physiological functions of interstitial fluid flow.

Interstitial Fluid Flow: The Mechanical Environment of Cells and Foundation of Meridians

“…Actually, the smaller ϕ is, the greater effect on τ cell, max⁡ is. At normal physiological values, ϕ has much smaller effects than when the values are outside of the normal physiological range [19]. Increasing intravascular capillary pressure or capillary permeability can increase τ cell .…”

“…We proposed a dynamic model to simulate the interstitial fluid flow near meridians and discovered that the source of direct impetus for this flow was the penetration of plasma between capillaries and interstitial fluid [17]. Furthermore, we developed a two-dimensional (2D) model to study the flow field in connective tissues and observed directional fluid flow [18, 19]. …”

Modeling and Simulation of the Interstitial Medium Deformation Induced by the Needle Manipulation During Acupuncture

“…In the context of acupuncture, the interstitial flow has been modeled by the Brinkman equations. The flow is driven by the difference in hydrostatic and osmotic pressures between the capillaries and the interstitial space [25,26].…”

A hybrid method to study the mechanical information induced by needle rotating

“…11 We also simulate the subcutaneous interstitial flow under TCM treatment. 12,13 Pedersen et al simulated how the architecture of extracellular fibers affects the shear stress on cell membranes and found that interstitial fluid flow is important to the cell imbedded in a 3D matrix. 14 Their researches focused on the effects of interstitial fluid induced by acupuncture manipulation.…”