Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To establish a cellular-level mechanical injury model for human skeletal muscle cells and investigate changes in the mechanical effect mechanism after such injuries. METHODS: The FX-5000™ Compression System was used to apply constant static mechanical pressure to human skeletal muscle cells. A factorial design analysis was conducted to discover the optimal injury model by evaluating the correlation between the amount of pressure, the duration of mechanical stimulation, and the number of days of observation. Skeletal muscle cell injury was evaluated by measuring cell metabolism, morphology, and calcium homeostasis. RESULTS: Mechanical injury was modeled as continuous pressure of 1 MPa for 2 hours with observation for 3 days. The results show that mechanical injury increased creatine kinase, intracellular Ca(2+) concentration, and malondialdehyde content, decreased superoxide dismutase, and caused cell swelling and severe cytoplasmic vacuolization (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: This model of mechanically-injured human skeletal muscle cells provides an experimental model for the clinically common skeletal muscle injury caused by static loading pressure. It may be used to study the mechanism of action of treatment methods for mechanically injured skeletal muscle.