My research project is a combined experimental and theoretical study designed to explore this hypothesis. Quantification of Gene Expression in Response to Compression One objective of this study is to measure the biosynthetic response of IVD cells to precisely controlled mechanical compression in vitro. In this study, cells are isolated from their native extracellular matrix and embedded in alginate. Hematoxylin-eosin stained section of cells from the transition zone embedded in alginate. Schematic of the compression experiment.
Compression is applied by the upper, moveable platen.
The amount of compression is controlled by a micrometer. In this technique, each tube contains both the target cDNA template and a competitor molecule that has the same primer regions as the target. Serial dilutions of the competitor are added to equal amounts of the target. The competitor acts as an internal standard, allowing quantitative gene expression measurements. Agarose gel showing PCR products for both the competitor and the target.