ABSTRACT
Mechanotransduction refers to the cellular mechanisms by which load-bearing cells sense physical forces, transduce the forces into biochemical signals, and generate appropriate responses leading to alterations in cellular structure and function. The physical forces encountered by living cells include membrane stretch, gain and loss of adhesion, and compression due to an increase in pressure. The signal transduction pathways that are activated in response to physical forces include many unique components, as well as elements shared by other, more traditional signaling pathways. Mechanotransduction in the heart affects the beat-to-beat regulation of cardiac performance, but also profoundly affects the proliferation, differentiation and survival of the cellular components that comprise the human myocardium. Understanding the molecular basis for mechanotransduction is therefore important to our overall understanding of growth regulation during cardiac hypertrophy and failure.
