Optimal Design of Living Tissue..and Engineering Application

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Living organs and tissues are optimally designed, and functionally adapt themselves and remodel in response to change in mechanical stress. The purposes of the present study were to experimentally investigate these phenomena and mechanisms, describe the phenomena using mechanical models, and seek an approach for engineering application.The experimental studies have shown that, for example, : 1) some optimal stresses are needed to maintain the strength of collagen fascicles cultured under not only static but also cyclic load conditions, 2) although the thickness, diameter, and elasticity of arterial walls are sensitively changed by the changes in blood flow and blood pressure, wall shear stress and circumferential wall stress are always kept at normal levels, 3) bone mass, structure, and strength change so as to functionally adapt to activity changes. and 4) mechanical stress changes the phagocytotic activity of macrophages. In addition, the effects of smooth muscle contraction on the strain and stress distributions in the arterial wall were theoretically analyzed considering the contribution of smooth muscle activation to arterial remodeling. Moreover, the safety factors of living tissues were compared to those of man-designed machines.These results have been and will be presented at several international conferences and published international scientific journals and as a book chapter. An international symposium on the functional adaptation and remodeling of living tissues and cells will be organized by the members of this study.