The effect of fluid mechanical stress on cellular arachidonic acid metabolism

The effect of sublytic levels of mechanical perturations of cells on cell metabolism were investigated by analyzing the products of arachidonic acid (used as a marker metabolite) in blood platelets, polymorphonuclear leucocytes, and cultured umbilical-vein endothelial cells after the suspensions of these cells were subjected to a shear stress in a modified viscometer. It is shown that the sublytic levels of mechanical stress stimulated the arachidonic acid metabolism in all these cell types. Possible biological implications of this stress-metabolism coupling are discussed.