ABSTRACT
From bacteria to mammals, all living organisms are subjected to physical forces. Mechanotransduction is referred to as the process of translating these mechanical forces into useful biochemical signals and cellular responses. e translation of physical forces into cellular responses is fundamental to development and physiology (Davidson et al. 2002; Farge 2003; Keller et al. 2003), cell migration (Pelham and Wang 1997; Stroka and Aranda-Espinoza 2009), and dierentiation (Engler et al. 2007, 2008b; Oh et al. 2009), as well as certain diseases (Hahn and Schwartz 2008; Ingber 2003; Lammerding et al. 2004; Spence et al. 2002). In the case of development and physiology, the continuous translation of physical forces into meaningful biochemical responses ensures not only structural stability among cells and organisms, but also a way to generate specic three-dimensional structures, such as the formation of
14.1 Introduction .................................................................................... 14-1 14.2 Cellular Mechanotransduction .................................................... 14-1
14.5 Summary ........................................................................................ 14-12 References .................................................................................................. 14-12
tissues and organs (Orr et al. 2006). Mechanotransduction also plays a role in the migration of numerous cell types, including neutrophils (Stroka and Aranda-Espinoza 2009), neurons (Balgude et al. 2001; Flanagan et al. 2002; Leach et al. 2007; Norman and Aranda-Espinoza 2010), and endothelial cells (ECs) (Yeung et al. 2005). In the case of neutrophils, the migratory behavior of these immune response cells can be directly aected by the mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix (ECM), which in turn can inhibit the speed of migration (Stroka and Aranda-Espinoza 2009) as well as the ability to target infection through transmigration (Rabodzey et al. 2008; Stroka and Aranda-Espinoza 2010). e differentiation of stem cells has also been recently related to the mechanical properties of the ECM (Engler et al. 2006; Saha et al. 2008; Shi et al. 2009). Remarkably, the stiness of the ECM can direct stem cell lineage, with soer substrates inducing the dierentiation of “neuron-like” cells, intermediate substrates inducing “muscle-like” cells, and sti substrates directing the dierentiation of “bone-like” cells (Engler et al. 2006). is behavior emphasizes the importance of matrix compliance and mechanotransduction in the development of stem cell therapeutics, since the mechanical environment alone is enough to direct their lineage. Although the above mentioned behaviors highlight some of the benecial aspects of cellular mechanotransduction, multiple diseases and disorders can also be attributed to defects and abnormalities associated with mechanotransduction components and pathways. ese diseases and disorders are further addressed below.
