Continuous mechanical loading alters properties of mechanosensitive channels in G292 osteoblastic cells

G292 osteoblastic cells were cultured in dishes made with a flexible base of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and stretched (~1% strain level) continuously for 48 hours. Patch-clamp recording techniques were then used to monitor single channel currents of mechanosensitive ion channels in these cells. To stimulate mechanosensitive channels, we applied suction to the membrane, expressed as -cm Hg, directly through the patch pipette. GigaOhm seals were obtained on a total of 33 osteoblasts that contained a high- conductance (~180 pS) mechanosensitive channel, all in the cell attached configuration. Of these, 18 were obtained from cells that had been stretched for either 1 (n = 6), 24 (n = 4), or 48 (n = 8) hours, and 15 were obtained in control (nonstretched) cells at either 1 (n = 2), 24 (n = 5), or 48 (n = 8) hours. For unstrained cells, applied pressures ranging from -1 to -5 cm Hg increased the probability of channel opening (P(open)) from 0.05 ± 0.01 (mean + SEM) to 0.12 ± 0.07. By contrast, for the same values of applied pressure in stretched cells, P(open) ranged from 0.06 ± 0.01 to 0.49 ± 0.15. Our results suggest that intrinsic properties of mechanosensitive ion channels in the G292 osteoblastic cell may be modulated by continuous mechanical loading of the cell itself.