Fluid shear stress has profound effects on cell physiology. Here we present a versatile microfluidic method capable of generating variable magnitudes, gradients, and different modes of shear flow, to study sensory and force transduction mechanisms in cells. The chip allows cell culture under spatially resolved shear flow conditions as well as study of cell response to shear flow in real-time. Using this chip, we studied the effects of chronic shear stress on cellular functions of Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK), renal epithelial cells. We show that shear stress causes reorganization of actin cytoskeleton, which suppresses flow-induced Ca2+ response.
