Year of publication:
2009
Journal name:
Biology of the Cell
Focal adhesion kinase-dependent regulation of adhesive force involves vinculin recruitment to focal adhesions.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov –
Background information. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK), an essential non-receptor tyrosine kinase, plays pivotal roles in migratory responses, adhesive signaling, and mechanotransduction. FAK-dependent regulation of cell migration involves focal adhesion turnover dynamics as well as actin cytoskeleton polymerization and lamellipodia protrusion. Whereas roles for FAK in migratory and mechanosensing responses have been established, the contributions of FAK to the generation of adhesive forces are not well understood. Results. Read more »
Role of integrins and focal adhesion kinase in the orientation of dermal fibroblasts exposed to cyclic strain
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com –
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 »
Year of publication:
2009
Journal name:
Internation Wound Journal
Mechanotransduction in striated muscle via focal adhesion kinase
http://www.biochemsoctrans.org –
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 »
Year of publication:
2007
Journal name:
Biochemical Society Transactions
Effect of Focal Adhesion Proteins on Endothelial Cell Adhesion, Motility and Orientation Response to Cyclic Strain
http://www.springerlink.com –
Focal adhesion proteins link cell surface integrins and intracellular actin stress fibers and therefore play an important role in mechanotransduction and cell motility. When endothelial cells are subjected to cyclic mechanical strain, time-lapse imaging revealed that cells underwent significant morphological changes with their resultant long axes aligned away from the strain direction. To explore how this response is regulated by focal adhesion-associated proteins the expression levels of paxillin, focal adhesion kinase (FAK), and zyxin were knocked down using gene silencing techniques. Read more »
Year of publication:
2009
Journal name:
Annals of Biomedical Engineering
The Structure and Regulation of Vinculin
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov –
Vinculin is a ubiquitously expressed actin-binding protein frequently used as a marker for both cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix (focal adhesion) adherens-type junctions, but its function has remained elusive. Vinculin is made up of a globular head linked to a tail domain by a short proline-rich sequence, and an intramolecular interaction between the head and tail masks the numerous ligand-binding sites in the protein. Read more »
Year of publication:
2006
Journal name:
Trends Cell Biol.