Study tests endothelial flow memory

This proposed gut-on-chip study asks whether prior blood-flow forces can help an intestinal blood-vessel barrier withstand a later inflammatory and platelet challenge. Researchers will expose vessel-lining endothelial cells to the same two stresses in opposite orders: 24 hours of fluid shear followed by the pulse, or the pulse followed by shear. They will also test simultaneous exposure and a vehicle control, with six chips per sequence from three independent donors. Barrier strength will be measured as transendothelial electrical resistance, meaning how well the cell layer blocks passage. Flow memory would require shear-then-pulse chips to retain at least 80% of baseline resistance at 24 hours, while pulse-then-shear chips fall below 65%.