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Cellular automata for polymer simulation with application to polymer melts and polymer collapse including implications for protein folding

http://www.sciencedirect.com
Year of publication: 
2001
Journal name: 
Parallel Computing
Cellular automata can be designed that allow the simulation of a large variety of polymer problems including isolated polymers in dilute solution, polymers in high density melts and polymers embedded in media. The two-space algorithm is a particularly efficient algorithm for polymer simulation that is easy to implement and generalize on both conventional serial hardward and Cellular Automaton (CA) Machines. We describe the implementation of this algorithm and two applications: two dimensions (2-D) melts and polymer collapse. Read more »
jamali's picture
Created by jamali 1 year 6 weeks ago
Category: Other   Tags:
0

Model-based analysis of interferon-β induced signaling pathway

http://bioinformatics.oxfordjournals.org Interferon-β induced JAK-STAT signaling pathways contribute to mucosal immune recognition and an anti-viral state. Though the main molecular mechanisms constituting these pathways are known, neither the detailed structure of the regulatory network, nor its dynamics has yet been investigated. Read more »
jamali's picture
Created by jamali 1 year 6 weeks ago
Category: Nuclear Pore Complex   Tags:
0

Mechanotransduction: All Signals Point to Cytoskeleton, Matrix, and Integrins

http://stke.sciencemag.org
Year of publication: 
2002
Journal name: 
Science STKE
Mechanical stresses modulate cell function by either activating or tuning signal transduction pathways. Mechanotransduction, the process by which cells convert mechanical stimuli into a chemical response, occurs both in cells specialized for sensing mechanical cues and in parenchymal cells whose primary function is not mechanosensory. However, common among the various responses to mechanical stress is the importance of direct or indirect connections between the internal cytoskeleton, the extracellular matrix (ECM), and traditional signal transducing molecules. Read more »
jkliu's picture
Created by jkliu 37 weeks 17 hours ago
Category: Cell Mechanotransduction   Tags:
0

Mechanotransduction pathways in bone: calcium fluxes and the role of voltage-operated calcium channels

http://www.springerlink.com
Year of publication: 
1998
Journal name: 
Mechanical and Biological Engineering and Computing
Changes in strain distribution across the vertebrate skeleton induce modelling and remodelling of bone structure. This relationship, like many in biomedical science, has been recognised since the 1800s, but it is only the recent development of in vivo and in vitro models that is allowing detailed investigation of the cellular mechanisms involved. A number of secondary messenger pathways have been implicated in load transduction by bone cells, and many of these pathways are similar to those proposed for other load-responsive cell types. Read more »
rjr's picture
Created by rjr 37 weeks 1 day ago
Category: Other   Tags:
0

A model for mechanotransduction in bone cells: The load-bearing mechanosomes

http://cat.inist.fr
Year of publication: 
2003
Journal name: 
Journal of Cellular Biochemistry
The skeleton's response to mechanical force, or load, has significance to space travel, the treatment of osteoporosis, and orthodontic appliances. How bone senses and processes load remains largely unknown. The cellular basis of mechanotransduction, however, likely involves the integration of diffusion-controlled signaling pathways with a solid-state scaffold linking the cell I membrane to the genes. Read more »
1

Cell tension, matrix mechanics, and cancer development

http://www.sciencedirect.com
Year of publication: 
2005
Journal name: 
Cancer Cell
Oncologists often diagnose cancer based on a change of tissue stiffness sensed by palpation, yet cancer researchers generally focus on biochemical signaling mechanisms. Tumors are more rigid because they have a stiffer extracellular matrix. A new study shows that this alteration of matrix mechanics activates integrins, which not only promotes mitogenic signaling through Erk but also cell contractility through Rho, which can further increase matrix stiffness. This establishes a positive feedback loop that switches on the malignant phenotype in mammary epithelial cells. Read more »
msylvia_bioe102's picture
Created by msylvia_bioe102 37 weeks 1 day ago
Category: Cancer Cells   Tags:
1

Embryonic stem cells utilize reactive oxygen species as transducers of mechanical strain-induced cardiovascular differentiation

http://www.fasebj.org
Year of publication: 
2006
Journal name: 
The FASEB Journal
Growing stem cells are subjected to mechanical forces, which may initiate differentiation programs. Mechanical strain stimulated cardiovascular differentiation of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells as evaluated by quantification of contracting cardiac foci and capillary areas, respectively. Mechanical strain rapidly elevated intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). After 24 h up-regulation of NADPH oxidase subunits p22-phox, p47-phox, p67-phox, and Nox-4 as well as Nox-1 and Nox-4 mRNA was observed. In parallel, mechanical strain increased hypoxia-inducible factor- Read more »
1

Nuclear mechanotransduction: Response of the lamina to extracellular stress with implications in aging

http://www.jbiomech.com
Year of publication: 
2008
Journal name: 
Journal of Biomechanics
Mechnotransduction, the phenomenon by which cells respond to applied force, is necessary for normal cell processes and is implicated in the pathology of several diseases including atherosclerosis. The exact mechanisms which govern how forces can affect gene expression have not been determined, but putative direct force effects on the genome would require transduction through the nuclear lamina. In this study we show that nuclei in cells exposed to shear stress significantly change shape, upregulate nuclear lamins and move lamins from the nuclear interior to the nuclear periphery. Read more »
1

Mechanotransduction in striated muscle via focal adhesion kinase

http://www.biochemsoctrans.org
Year of publication: 
2007
Journal name: 
Biochemical Society Transactions
Contractile tissues demonstrate a pronounced capacity to remodel their composition in response to mechanical challenges. Descriptive evidence suggests the upstream involvement of the phosphotransfer enzyme FAK (focal adhesion kinase) in the molecular control of load-dependent muscle plasticity. Thereby FAK evolves as a myocellular transducer of mechanical signals towards downstream transcript expression in myofibres. Recent advances in somatic gene therapy now allow the exploration of the functional involvement of this enzyme in mechanotransduction in intact muscle. Read more »
1

Molecular regulation of mechanotransduction

http://www.sciencedirect.com
Year of publication: 
2004
Journal name: 
Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
There is a common mechanism for mechanotransduction in cells, regardless of the cell type. Integrins, interacting with their matrix/environment, mediate increases in intracellular Ca2+ levels and activate MAP kinase cascades to cause ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Phosphorylated ERK1/2 causes the activation of the AP-1 family of transcription factors that are necessary for the pro-growth response. The pro-bone growth response involves upregulation of the genes c-fos, IGF-1, cyclooxygenase, and osteocalcin. Read more »
eritakami's picture
Created by eritakami 37 weeks 1 day ago
Category: Cell Mechanotransduction   Tags:
1

BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOMECHANICS OF CELL MOTILITY

http://arjournals.annualreviews.org
Year of publication: 
2005
Journal name: 
Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering Volume 7
Cell motility is an essential cellular process for a variety of biological events. The process of cell migration requires the integration and coordination of complex biochemical and biomechanical signals. The protrusion force at the leading edge of a cell is generated by the cytoskeleton, and this force generation is controlled by multiple signaling cascades. The formation of new adhesions at the front and the release of adhesions at the rear involve the outside-in and inside-out signaling mediated by integrins and other adhesion receptors. Read more »
1

Mechanical Signaling and the Cellular Response to Extracellular Matrix in Angiogenesis and Cardiovascular Physiology

http://circres.ahajournals.org
Year of publication: 
2002
Journal name: 
Circulation Research
Great advances have been made in the identification of the soluble angiogenic factors, insoluble extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules, and receptor signaling pathways that mediate control of angiogenesis—the growth of blood capillaries. This review focuses on work that explores how endothelial cells integrate these chemical signals with mechanical cues from their local tissue microenvironment so as to produce functional capillary networks that exhibit specialized form as well as function. Read more »
1

Intracellular Mechanics of Migrating Fibroblasts

http://www.molbiolcell.org
Year of publication: 
2005
Journal name: 
Molecular Biology Cell
Cell migration is a highly coordinated process that occurs through the translation of biochemical signals into specific biomechanical events. The biochemical and structural properties of the proteins involved in cell motility, as well as their subcellular localization, have been studied extensively. However, how these proteins work in concert to generate the mechanical properties required to produce global motility is not well understood. Read more »
1

Matrix Elasticity Directs Stem Cell Lineage Specification

http://www.sciencedirect.com
Year of publication: 
2006
Journal name: 
Cell
Microenvironments appear important in stem cell lineage specification but can be difficult to adequately characterize or control with soft tissues. Naive mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are shown here to specify lineage and commit to phenotypes with extreme sensitivity to tissue-level elasticity. Soft matrices that mimic brain are neurogenic, stiffer matrices that mimic muscle are myogenic, and comparatively rigid matrices that mimic collagenous bone prove osteogenic. Read more »
msylvia_bioe102's picture
Created by msylvia_bioe102 37 weeks 1 day ago
Category: Stem Cells   Tags:
1

Anisotropic Mechanosensing by Mesenchymal Stem Cells

http://www.pnas.org
Year of publication: 
2006
Journal name: 
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a potential source for the construction of tissue-engineered vascular grafts. However, how vascular mechanical forces regulate the genetic reprogramming in MSCs is not well understood. Mechanical strain in the vascular wall is anisotropic and mainly in the circumferential direction. We have shown that cyclic uniaxial strain on elastic substrates causes the cells to align perpendicularly to the strain axis, which is different from that in the vascular wall. Read more »
1

Microfabricated tissue gauges to measure and manipulate forces from 3D microtissues

http://www.pnas.org
Year of publication: 
2009
Journal name: 
PNAS
Physical forces generated by cells drive morphologic changes during development and can feedback to regulate cellular phenotypes. Because these phenomena typically occur within a 3-dimensional (3D) matrix in vivo, we used microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology to generate arrays of microtissues consisting of cells encapsulated within 3D micropatterned matrices. Microcantilevers were used to simultaneously constrain the remodeling of a collagen gel and to report forces generated during this process. By concurrently measuring forces and observing matrix remodeling Read more »
1

Role of integrins and focal adhesion kinase in the orientation of dermal fibroblasts exposed to cyclic strain

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com
Year of publication: 
2009
Journal name: 
Internation Wound Journal
Stretch is applied to skin under normal physiological conditions, for example pregnancy, or artificially using soft tissue expanders. Because cells are known to orient in response to the application of mechanical forces, the current studies were carried out to assess the effects of stretch on dermal fibroblast orientation and cell signalling. Dermal fibroblasts were seeded onto collagen-coated flexible membranes and grown to 70–80% confluence. Membranes were then deformed at 10 cycles per minute by the application of 135 mmHg subatmospheric pressure. Read more »
dorothy_tulanont's picture
Created by dorothy_tulanont 37 weeks 20 hours ago
Category: Cell Mechanotransduction   Tags:
1

Mechanotransduction in the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Year of publication: 
2005
Journal name: 
nstitute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology
Mechanosensitive pathways can be categorized as being amongst the oldest response pathways that developed in the history of evolution as they underlie many of the more complex physiological processes that developed later. Day to day examples that can be easily overlooked are the way organisms distinguish sound or respond to touch. This article deals with the mechanosensitive pathways of one particular example of worm, Caenorhabditis elegans. Read more »
anilkm's picture
Created by anilkm 37 weeks 20 hours ago
Category: Mechanosensors in Sensory Cells   Tags:
1

NAIP interacts with hippocalcin and protects neurons against calcium-induced cell death through caspase-3-dependent and -independent pathways

http://www.nature.com
Year of publication: 
2000
Journal name: 
The EMBO Journal
Inhibitor-of-apoptosis proteins (IAPs), including neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein (NAIP), inhibit cell death. Other IAPs inhibit key caspase proteases which effect cell death, but the mechanism by which NAIP acts is unknown. Here we report that NAIP, through its third baculovirus inhibitory repeat domain (BIR3), binds the neuron-restricted calcium-binding protein, hippocalcin, in an interaction promoted by calcium. Read more »
lloydjlee's picture
Created by lloydjlee 37 weeks 1 day ago
Category: Cell Mechanotransduction   Tags:
1

The Mechanical Rigidity of the Extracellular Matrix Regulates the Structure, Motility, and Proliferation of Glioma Cells

http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org
Year of publication: 
2009
Journal name: 
Cancer Research 69
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a malignant astrocytoma of the central nervous system associated with a median survival time of 15 months, even with aggressive therapy. This rapid progression is due in part to diffuse infiltration of single tumor cells into the brain parenchyma, which is thought to involve aberrant interactions between tumor cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM). Here, we test the hypothesis that mechanical cues from the ECM contribute to key tumor cell properties relevant to invasion. Read more »

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