Systems-based identification of temporal processing pathways during bone cell mechanotransduction

In this study, our goal was to characterize transcriptomic perturbations arising from the insertion of intermittent rest periods in bone cells subjected to fluid flow, and assess the utility of these perturbations to identify signaling pathways that are differentially activated by this temporal variation. Total RNA was obtained from MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells subjected to no flow, one hour of continuous flow, or one hour of rest-inserted flow (4x bouts of 5min of flow followed by 10min of rest). RNA was isolated in cells immediately following cessation of the one hour flow period, or one hour post-flow (6 samples in total). Each sample contains RNA pooled from three independent experiments.