Tensegrity: the architectural basis of cellular mechanotransduction
- PMID: 9074778
- DOI: 10.1146/annurev.physiol.59.1.575
Tensegrity: the architectural basis of cellular mechanotransduction
Abstract
Physical forces of gravity, hemodynamic stresses, and movement play a critical role in tissue development. Yet, little is known about how cells convert these mechanical signals into a chemical response. This review attempts to place the potential molecular mediators of mechanotransduction (e.g. stretch-sensitive ion channels, signaling molecules, cytoskeleton, integrins) within the context of the structural complexity of living cells. The model presented relies on recent experimental findings, which suggests that cells use tensegrity architecture for their organization. Tensegrity predicts that cells are hard-wired to respond immediately to mechanical stresses transmitted over cell surface receptors that physically couple the cytoskeleton to extracellular matrix (e.g. integrins) or to other cells (cadherins, selectins, CAMs). Many signal transducing molecules that are activated by cell binding to growth factors and extracellular matrix associate with cytoskeletal scaffolds within focal adhesion complexes. Mechanical signals, therefore, may be integrated with other environmental signals and transduced into a biochemical response through force-dependent changes in scaffold geometry or molecular mechanics. Tensegrity also provides a mechanism to focus mechanical energy on molecular transducers and to orchestrate and tune the cellular response.
Similar articles
-
Integrins, tensegrity, and mechanotransduction.Gravit Space Biol Bull. 1997 Jun;10(2):49-55. Gravit Space Biol Bull. 1997. PMID: 11540119 Review.
-
Tensegrity and mechanoregulation: from skeleton to cytoskeleton.Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 1999 Jan;7(1):81-94. doi: 10.1053/joca.1998.0164. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 1999. PMID: 10367017 Review.
-
[Mechanotransduction and tensegrity (I)].Rev Med Chir Soc Med Nat Iasi. 1998 Jul-Dec;102(3-4):25-35. Rev Med Chir Soc Med Nat Iasi. 1998. PMID: 10756840 Review. Romanian.
-
Tensegrity-based mechanosensing from macro to micro.Prog Biophys Mol Biol. 2008 Jun-Jul;97(2-3):163-79. doi: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2008.02.005. Epub 2008 Feb 13. Prog Biophys Mol Biol. 2008. PMID: 18406455 Free PMC article. Review.
-
How cells (might) sense microgravity.FASEB J. 1999;13 Suppl:S3-15. doi: 10.1096/fasebj.13.9001.s3. FASEB J. 1999. PMID: 10352140
Cited by 309 articles
-
Mechanical control of nuclear import by Importin-7 is regulated by its dominant cargo YAP.Nat Commun. 2022 Mar 4;13(1):1174. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-28693-y. Nat Commun. 2022. PMID: 35246520 Free PMC article.
-
Viscoelasticity, Like Forces, Plays a Role in Mechanotransduction.Front Cell Dev Biol. 2022 Feb 9;10:789841. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2022.789841. eCollection 2022. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2022. PMID: 35223831 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Mechano-Signaling Aspects of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.J Cancer. 2021 Sep 3;12(21):6411-6421. doi: 10.7150/jca.60102. eCollection 2021. J Cancer. 2021. PMID: 34659531 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Revisiting tissue tensegrity: Biomaterial-based approaches to measure forces across length scales.APL Bioeng. 2021 Oct 1;5(4):041501. doi: 10.1063/5.0046093. eCollection 2021 Dec. APL Bioeng. 2021. PMID: 34632250 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Microgravity Effects on the Matrisome.Cells. 2021 Aug 27;10(9):2226. doi: 10.3390/cells10092226. Cells. 2021. PMID: 34571874 Free PMC article. Review.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
