Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Mechanics of Airway Smooth Muscle Cells and the Response to Stretch

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Cellular and Biomolecular Mechanics and Mechanobiology

Part of the book series: Studies in Mechanobiology, Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials ((SMTEB,volume 4))

  • 1931 Accesses

Abstract

Airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells are continuously exposed to stretching as we breathe, and this stretching regulates the cell contractility that is ultimately responsible for making breathing difficult. The past dozen years have led to major advances in our understanding of the rheology of the ASM and of the mechanical response to imposed stretch. This review covers the highly adaptable ability of cell function to be maintained over large length changes and reviews characteristic softening and lengthening behaviors. It covers foundations of theoretical interpretations based on myosin dynamics to recent findings that have lead to redefining much of the acute mechanics of the ASM as a soft glassy material. ASM is far from equilibrium, crowded with jostling, interacting molecules with mechanics that are fragile and easily disrupted by large stretches, yet which easily and slowly recover from each stretch. Chronic stretching leads to further changes as contractile phenotype becomes altered. The response to stretch has become one of the most important characteristics of ASM mechanics and defines its function, and ultimately may underlie dysfunction in airway diseases such as asthma.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Almasri, A.M., Ratz, P.H., Speich, J.E.: Length adaptation of the passive-to-active tension ratio in rabbit detrusor. Ann. Biomed. Eng. 38, 2594–2605 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. An, S.S., Bai, T.R., Bates, J.H., Black, J.L., Brown, R.H., Brusasco, V., Chitano, P., Deng, L., Dowell, M., Eidelman, D.H., Fabry, B., Fairbank, N.J., Ford, L.E., Fredberg, J.J., Gerthoffer, W.T., Gilbert, S.H., Gosens, R., Gunst, S.J., Halayko, A.J., Ingram, R.H., Irvin, C.G., James, A.L., Janssen, L.J., King, G.G., Knight, D.A., Lauzon, A.M., Lakser, O.J., Ludwig, M.S., Lutchen, K.R., Maksym, G.N., Martin, J.G., Mauad, T., McParland, B.E., Mijailovich, S.M., Mitchell, H.W., Mitchell, R.W., Mitzner, W., Murphy, T.M., Pare, P.D., Pellegrino, R., Sanderson, M.J., Schellenberg, R.R., Seow, C.Y., Silveira, P.S., Smith, P.G., Solway, J., Stephens, N.L., Sterk, P.J., Stewart, A.G., Tang, D.D., Tepper, R.S., Tran, T., Wang, L.: Airway smooth muscle dynamics: a common pathway of airway obstruction in asthma. Eur. Respir. J. 29, 834–860 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Balaban, N.Q., Schwarz, U.S., Riveline, D., Goichberg, P., Tzur, G., Sabanay, I., Mahalu, D., Safran, S., Bershadsky, A., Addadi, L., Geiger, B.: Force and focal adhesion assembly: a close relationship studied using elastic micropatterned substrates. Nat. Cell.Biol. 3, 466–472 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Balland, M., Desprat, N., Icard, D., Fereol, S., Asnacios, A., Browaeys, J., Henon, S., Gallet, F.: Power laws in microrheology experiments on living cells: Comparative analysis and modeling. Phys. Rev. E Stat. Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 74, 021911 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Bausch, A.R., Moller, W., Sackmann, E.: Measurement of local viscoelasticity and forces in living cells by magnetic tweezers. Biophys. J. 76, 573–579 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Benayoun, L., Druilhe, A., Dombret, M.C., Aubier, M., Pretolani, M.: Airway structural alterations selectively associated with severe asthma. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 167, 1360–1368 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Bosse, Y., Chin, L.Y., Pare, P.D., Seow, C.Y.: Adaptation of airway smooth muscle to basal tone: relevance to airway hyperresponsiveness. Am. J. Respir. Cell. Mol. Biol. 40, 13–18 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Bosse, Y., Chin, L.Y., Pare, P.D., Seow, C.Y.: Chronic activation in shortened airway smooth muscle: a synergistic combination underlying airway hyperresponsiveness? Am. J. Respir. Cell. Mol. Biol. 42, 341–348 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Bosse, Y., Sobieszek, A., Pare, P.D., Seow, C.Y.: Length adaptation of airway smooth muscle. Proc. Am. Thorac. Soc. 5, 62–67 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Bouchaud, J. P.: Weak ergodicity breaking and aging in disordered systems. J. Phys. I France 2, 1705–1713 (1992)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Brown, R.H., Mitzner, W.: The myth of maximal airway responsiveness in vivo. J. Appl. Physiol. 85, 2012–2017 (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Bursac, P., Lenormand, G., Fabry, B., Oliver, M., Weitz, D.A., Viasnoff, V., Butler, J.P., Fredberg, J.J.: Cytoskeletal remodelling and slow dynamics in the living cell. Nat. Mater. 4, 557–561 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Choquet, D., Felsenfeld, D.P., Sheetz, M.P.: Extracellular matrix rigidity causes strengthening of integrin-cytoskeleton linkages. Cell 88, 39–48 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Connolly, S.C., Fairbank, N.J., Mackinnon, J.D., Maksym, G.N.: Increased contractile function in airway smooth muscle without a phenotypic shift: role of stretch, tone, MLCK and ROCK. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 179, A6136 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Deng, L., Fairbank, N.J., Cole, D.J., Fredberg, J.J., Maksym, G.N.: Airway smooth muscle tone modulates mechanically induced cytoskeletal stiffening and remodeling. J. Appl. Physiol. 99, 634–641 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Deng, L., Fairbank, N.J., Fabry, B., Smith, P.G., Maksym, G.N.: Localized mechanical stress induces time-dependent actin cytoskeletal remodeling and stiffening in cultured airway smooth muscle cells. Am. J. Physiol. Cell. Physiol. 287, C440–C448 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Deng, L., Trepat, X., Butler, J.P., Millet, E., Morgan, K.G., Weitz, D.A., Fredberg, J.J.: Fast and slow dynamics of the cytoskeleton. Nat. Mater. 5, 636–640 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Douglas, N.J., Sudlow, M.F., Flenley, D.C.: Effect of an inhaled atropinelike agent on normal airway function. J. Appl. Physiol. 46, 256–262 (1979)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Ebina, M., Takahashi, T., Chiba, T., Motomiya, M.: Cellular hypertrophy and hyperplasia of airway smooth muscles underlying bronchial asthma. A 3-D morphometric study. Am. Rev. Respir. Dis. 148, 720–726 (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Fabry, B., Fredberg, J.J.: Remodeling of the airway smooth muscle cell: are we built of glass? Respir. Physiol. Neurobiol. 137, 109–124 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Fabry, B., Maksym, G.N., Butler, J.P., Glogauer, M., Navajas, D., Fredberg, J.J.: Scaling the microrheology of living cells. Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 148102 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Fabry, B., Maksym, G.N., Butler, J.P., Glogauer, M., Navajas, D., Taback, N.A., Millet, E.J., Fredberg, J.J.: Time scale and other invariants of integrative mechanical behavior in living cells. Phys. Rev. E Stat. Nonlin. Soft. Matter Phys. 68, 041914 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Fairbank, N.J., Connolly, S.C., Mackinnon, J.D., Wehry, K., Deng, L., Maksym, G.N.: Airway smooth muscle cell tone amplifies contractile function in the presence of chronic cyclic strain. Am. J. Physiol. Lung Cell.Mol. Physiol. 295, L479–L488 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Fredberg, J.J.: Counterpoint: airway smooth muscle is not useful. J. Appl. Physiol. 102, 1709–1710 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Fredberg, J.J., Inouye, D., Miller, B., Nathan, M., Jafari, S., Raboudi, S.H., Butler, J.P., Shore, S.A.: Airway smooth muscle, tidal stretches, and dynamically determined contractile states. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 156, 1752–1759 (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  26. Fredberg, J.J., Inouye, D.S., Mijailovich, S.M., Butler, J.P.: Perturbed equilibrium of myosin binding in airway smooth muscle and its implications in bronchospasm. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 159, 959–967 (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Fredberg, J.J., Jones, K.A., Nathan, M., Raboudi, S., Prakash, Y.S., Shore, S.A., Butler, J.P., Sieck, G.C.: Friction in airway smooth muscle: mechanism, latch, and implications in asthma. J. Appl. Physiol. 81, 2703–2712 (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Fredberg, J.J., Stamenovic, D.: On the imperfect elasticity of lung tissue. J. Appl. Physiol. 67, 2408–2419 (1989)

    Google Scholar 

  29. Fung, Y.C.: Biomechanics, mechanical properties of living tissues. Springer-Verlag, New York (1984)

    Google Scholar 

  30. Galbraith, C.G., Yamada, K.M., Sheetz, M.P.: The relationship between force and focal complex development. J. Cell. Biol. 159, 695–705 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Gregersen, H., Emery, J.L., McCulloch, A.D.: History-dependent mechanical behavior of guinea-pig small intestine. Ann. Biomed. Eng. 26, 850–858 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Gunst, S.J.: Effect of length history on contractile behavior of canine tracheal smooth muscle. Am. J. Physiol. 250, C146–C154 (1986)

    Google Scholar 

  33. Gunst, S.J.: Contractile force of canine airway smooth muscle during cyclical length changes. J. Appl. Physiol. 55, 759–769 (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  34. Gunst, S.J., Zhang, W.: Actin cytoskeletal dynamics in smooth muscle: a new paradigm for the regulation of smooth muscle contraction. Am. J. Physiol. Cell. Physiol. 295, C576–C587 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Hai, C.M., Murphy, R.A.: Cross-bridge phosphorylation and regulation of latch state in smooth muscle. Am. J. Physiol. 254, C99–C106 (1988)

    Google Scholar 

  36. Halayko, A.J., Camoretti-Mercado, B., Forsythe, S.M., Vieira, J.E., Mitchell, R.W., Wylam, M.E., Hershenson, M.B., Solway, J.: Divergent differentiation paths in airway smooth muscle culture: induction of functionally contractile myocytes. Am. J. Physiol. Lung Cell. Mol. Physiol. 20, L197–L206 (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  37. Halayko, A.J., Salari, H., Ma, X.F., Stephens, N.L.: Markers of Airway Smooth Muscle Cell Phenotype. Am. J. Physiol. Lung Cell. Mol. Physiol. 14, L1040–L1051 (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  38. Huxley, A. F.: Muscle structure and theories of contraction. Prog. Biophys. Biophys. Chem. 7, 255–318 (1957)

    Google Scholar 

  39. King, G.G., Moore, B.J., Seow, C.Y., Pare, P.D.: Airway narrowing associated with inhibition of deep inspiration during methacholine inhalation in asthmatics. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 164, 216–218 (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  40. Krishnan, R., Park, C.Y., Lin, Y.C., Mead, J., Jaspers, R.T., Trepat, X., Lenormand, G., Tambe, D., Smolensky, A.V., Knoll, A.H., Butler, J.P., Fredberg, J.J.: Reinforcement versus fluidization in cytoskeletal mechanoresponsiveness. PLoS One 4, e5486 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Krishnan, R., Trepat, X., Nguyen, T.T., Lenormand, G., Oliver, M., Fredberg, J.J.: Airway smooth muscle and bronchospasm: fluctuating, fluidizing, freezing. Respir. Physiol. Neurobiol. 163, 17–24 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Kuo, K.H., Herrera, A.M., Wang, L., Pare, P.D., Ford, L.E., Stephens, N.L., Seow, C.Y.: Structure-function correlation in airway smooth muscle adapted to different lengths. Am. J. Physiol. Cell. Physiol. 285, C384–C390 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  43. Kuo, K.H., Wang, L., Pare, P.D., Ford, L.E., Seow, C.Y.: Myosin thick filament lability induced by mechanical strain in airway smooth muscle. J. Appl. Physiol. 90, 1811–1816 (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  44. Latourelle, J., Fabry, B., Fredberg, J.J.: Dynamic equilibration of airway smooth muscle contraction during physiological loading. J. Appl. Physiol. 92, 771–779 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Lau, A.W., Hoffman, B.D., Davies, A., Crocker, J.C., Lubensky, T.C.: Microrheology, stress fluctuations, and active behavior of living cells. Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 198101 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Leguillette, R., Laviolette, M., Bergeron, C., Zitouni, N., Kogut, P., Solway, J., Kachmar, L., Hamid, Q., Lauzon, A.M.: Myosin, transgelin, and myosin light chain kinase: expression and function in asthma. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 179, 194–204 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Leporatti, S., Sczech, R., Riegler, H., Köhler, G.K.B., Hauschildt, S., Donath, E.: Elasticity and adhesion of resting and lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophages. FEBS Lett. 580, 450–454 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Lim, T.K., Ang, S.M., Rossing, T.H., Ingenito, E.P., Ingram Jr., R. H.: The effects of deep inhalation on maximal expiratory flow during intensive treatment of spontaneous asthmatic episodes. Am. Rev. Respir. Dis. 140, 340–343 (1989)

    Google Scholar 

  49. Lim, T.K., Pride, N.B., Ingram Jr., R. H.: Effects of volume history during spontaneous and acutely induced air-flow obstruction in asthma. Am. Rev. Respir. Dis. 135, 591–596 (1987)

    Google Scholar 

  50. Maksym, G. N., Deng, L., Fairbank, N. J., Connolly, S. C., (2005). Beneficial and harmful effects of oscillatory mechanical strain on airway smooth muslce. Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol.

    Google Scholar 

  51. Mandadapu, K.K., Govindjee, S., Mofrad, M.R.: On the cytoskeleton and soft glassy rheology. J. Biomech. 41, 1467–1478 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. McParland, B.E., Tait, R.R., Pare, P.D., Seow, C.Y.: The role of airway smooth muscle during an attack of asthma simulated in vitro. Am. J. Respir. Cell. Mol. Biol. 33, 500–504 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Mead, J.: A further comment on point:counterpoint “airway smooth muscle is/is not useful”. J. Appl. Physiol. 103, 412 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Mehta, D., Gunst, S.J.: Actin polymerization stimulated by contractile activation regulates force development in canine tracheal smooth muscle. J. Physiol. Lond. 519, 829–840 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Mijailovich, S.M., Butler, J.P., Fredberg, J.J.: Perturbed equilibria of myosin binding in airway smooth muscle: bond-length distributions, mechanics, and ATP metabolism. Biophys. J. 79, 2667–2681 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Mitzner, W.: Airway smooth muscle: the appendix of the lung. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 169, 787–790 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  57. Mitzner, W.: A further comment on Point:Counterpoint “Airway smooth muscle is/is not useful”. J. Appl. Physiol. 104, 902 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  58. Oliver, M.N., Fabry, B., Marinkovic, A., Mijailovich, S.M., Butler, J.P., Fredberg, J.J.: Airway hyperresponsiveness, remodeling, and smooth muscle mass: right answer, wrong reason? Am. J. Respir. Cell. Mol. Biol. 37, 264–272 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. Pratusevich, V.R., Seow, C.Y., Ford, L.E.: Plasticity in canine airway smooth muscle. J. Gen. Physiol. 105, 73–94 (1995)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Qi, D., Mitchell, R.W., Burdyga, T., Ford, L.E., Kuo, K.H., Seow, C.Y.: Myosin light chain phosphorylation facilitates in vivo myosin filament reassembly after mechanical perturbation. Am. J. Physiol. Cell. Physiol. 282, C1298–C1305 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  61. Scichilone, N., Pyrgos, G., Kapsali, T., Anderlind, C., Brown, R., Permutt, S., Togias, A.: Airways hyperresponsiveness and the effects of lung inflation. Int. Arch. Allergy Immunol. 124, 262–266 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  62. Seow, C.Y.: Comments on point: counterpoint: “airway smooth muscle is/is not useful”. J. Appl. Physiol. 102, 1712 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  63. Seow, C.Y., Schellenberg, R.R., Pare, P.D.: Structural and functional changes in the airway smooth muscle of asthmatic subjects. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 158, S179–S186 (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  64. Smith, P.G., Deng, L., Fredberg, J.J., Maksym, G.N.: Mechanical strain increases cell stiffness through cytoskeletal filament reorganization. Am. J. Physiol. Lung Cell. Mol. Physiol. 285, L456–L463 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  65. Smith, P.G., Janiga, K.E., Bruce, M.C.: Strain increases airway smooth muscle cell proliferation. Am. J. Respir. Cell. Mol. Biol. 10, 85–90 (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  66. Smith, P. G., Moreno, R., Ikebe, M., (1997). Strain increases airway smooth muscle contractile and cytoskeletal proteins in vitro. Am. J. Physiol. 272.

    Google Scholar 

  67. Smith, P.G., Roy, C., Dreger, J., Brozovich, F.: Mechanical strain increases velocity and extent of shortening in cultured airway smooth muscle cells. Am. J. Physiol. Lung Cell. Mol. Physiol. 21, L343–L348 (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  68. Smith, P.G., Roy, C., Fisher, S., Huang, Q.Q., Brozovich, F.: Selected contribution: mechanical strain increases force production and calcium sensitivity in cultured airway smooth muscle cells. J. Appl. Physiol. 89, 2092–2098 (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  69. Smith, P.G., Roy, C., Zhang, Y.N., Chauduri, S.: Mechanical stress increases RhoA activation in airway smooth muscle cells. Am. J. Respir. Cell. Mol. Biol. 28, 436–442 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  70. Sollich, P.: Rheological constitutive equation for a model of soft glassy materials. Phys. Rev. E Stat. Nonlin. Soft. Matter Phys. 58, 738–759 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  71. Sollich, P., Lequeux, F., Hébraud, P., Cates, M.E.: Rheology of Soft glassy materials. Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 2020–2023 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  72. Speich, J.E., Almasri, A.M., Bhatia, H., Klausner, A.P., Ratz, P.H.: Adaptation of the length-active tension relationship in rabbit detrusor. Am. J. Physiol. Renal Physiol. 297, F1119–F1128 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  73. Stamenovic, D.: Effects of cytoskeletal prestress on cell rheological behavior. Acta Biomater. 1, 255–262 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  74. Stamenovic, D., Suki, B., Fabry, B., Wang, N., Fredberg, J.J.: Rheology of airway smooth muscle cells is associated with cytoskeletal contractile stress. J. Appl. Physiol. 96, 1600–1605 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  75. Sunyer, R., Trepat, X., Fredberg, J.J., Farre, R., Navajas, D.: The temperature dependence of cell mechanics measured by atomic force microscopy. Phys. Biol. 6, 025009 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  76. Syyong, H., Cheung, C., Solomon, D., Seow, C.Y., Kuo, K.H.: Adaptive response of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle to length change. J. Appl. Physiol. 104, 1014–1020 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  77. Trache, A., Trzeciakowski, J.P., Gardiner, L., Sun, Z., Muthuchamy, M., Guo, M., Yuan, S.Y., Meininger, G.A.: Histamine effects on endothelial cell fibronectin interaction studied by atomic force microscopy. Biophys. J. 89, 2888–2898 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  78. Trepat, X., Deng, L., An, S.S., Navajas, D., Tschumperlin, D.J., Gerthoffer, W.T., Butler, J.P., Fredberg, J.J.: Universal physical responses to stretch in the living cell. Nature 447, 592–595 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  79. Wang, L., Liu, H.W., McNeill, K.D., Stelmack, G., Scott, J.E., Halayko, A.J.: Mechanical strain inhibits airway smooth muscle gene transcription via protein kinase C signaling. Am. J. Respir. Cell. Mol. Biol. 31, 54–61 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  80. Wang, L., Pare, P.D., Seow, C.Y.: Selected contribution: effect of chronic passive length change on airway smooth muscle length-tension relationship. J. Appl. Physiol. 90, 734–740 (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  81. Wang, N., Tolic-Norrelykke, I.M., Chen, J., Mijailovich, S.M., Butler, J.P., Fredberg, J.J., Stamenovic, D.: Cell prestress. I. Stiffness and prestress are closely associated in adherent contractile cells. Am. J. Physiol. Cell. Physiol. 282, C606–C616 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  82. Woolcock, A.J., Salome, C.M., Yan, K.: The shape of the dose-response curve to histamine in asthmatic and normal subjects. Am. Rev. Respir. Dis. 130, 71–75 (1984)

    Google Scholar 

  83. Xue, Z., Zhang, L., Liu, Y., Gunst, S.J., Tepper, R.S.: Chronic inflation of ferret lungs with CPAP reduces airway smooth muscle contractility in vivo and in vitro. J. Appl. Physiol. 104, 610–615 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Work conducted by the author included in this report was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation and the Lung Association of Nova Scotia.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biomedical Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, B3H 1W2, Canada

    Geoffrey N. Maksym

Authors
  1. Geoffrey N. Maksym
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Geoffrey N. Maksym .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fac. Engineering, Dept. Biomedical Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 69978, Israel

    Amit Gefen

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Maksym, G.N. (2010). Mechanics of Airway Smooth Muscle Cells and the Response to Stretch. In: Gefen, A. (eds) Cellular and Biomolecular Mechanics and Mechanobiology. Studies in Mechanobiology, Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials, vol 4. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/8415_2010_34

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/8415_2010_34

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-14217-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-14218-5

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation