Chronic Physiological Shear Stress Inhibits Tumor Necrosis Factor–Induced Proinflammatory Responses in Rabbit Aorta Perfused Ex Vivo

Abstract

Background— Regions in the vasculature exposed to steady laminar flow have a lower likelihood for atherosclerosis than regions exposed to disturbed flow with low shear stress. We previously found that laminar flow of short duration inhibited tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α–mediated proinflammatory signaling in cultured endothelial cells (ECs). However, mechanisms responsible for the atheroprotective effects of physiological shear stress remain undefined. Therefore, we examined the effects of chronic shear stress on TNF-α–induced inflammatory responses using an ex vivo perfusion organ culture system.