Аннотация:Cellular phenomena are regulated in response to a combination of molecular and mechanical inputs from the environment. This chapter discusses the primary modes of cellular mechanosensing, from the extracellular matrix (ECM), through integrin complexes at the cell membrane, to regulatory mechanisms within the nucleus. It focuses particularly on molecular processes, such as changes in protein conformation and location, as well as post-translational modification. The methods that have allowed recent advances in the study of mechanobiology are discussed, including the development of two- and three-dimensional in vitro culture systems, devices for the application of strain, light and force microscopies, and the emergence of "-omics" technologies, such as transcriptomics and proteomics.
