REGULATION OF STRETCH-INDUCED MECHANOTRANSDUCTION BY CYTOSKELETAL TENSION Conference Paper uri icon

abstract

  • Cytoskeletal tension enables cells to adhere, spread, contract, and migrate. In adherent, non-muscle cells such as endothelial cells and fibroblasts, tension is generated by actomyosin stress fibers applying traction forces to cell-matrix adhesions. Tension extends stress fibers beyond their unloaded lengths and cells maintain a preferred level of fiber strain that depends on actomyosin activity (Lu 2008). Stretching the matrix upon which cells adhere perturbs the cell-matrix traction forces and cells respond by actively re-establishing the pre-existing level of force (Gavara 2006). Sudden large increases or decreases in strain result in rapid stress fiber disassembly and reassembly (Lu 2008), suggesting that perturbing fiber strain from a preferred level stimulates stress fiber turnover.

name of conference

  • ASME 2010 Summer Bioengineering Conference, Parts A and B

published proceedings

  • PROCEEDINGS OF THE ASME SUMMER BIOENGINEERING CONFERENCE, 2010

author list (cited authors)

  • Hsu, H., Locke, A. K., Vanderzyl, S. O., Lee, C., & Kaunas, R.

citation count

  • 0

complete list of authors

  • Hsu, Hui-Ju||Locke, Andrea K||Vanderzyl, Susan O||Lee, Chin-Fu||Kaunas, Roland

publication date

  • January 2010