http://www.jbc.org – Mechanical forces are crucial to the regulation of cell and tissue morphology and function. At the cellular level, forces influence cytoskeletal organization, gene expression, proliferation, and survival. Integrin-mediated adhesions are intrinsically mechanosensitive and a large body of data implicates integrins in sensing mechanical forces. We review the relationship between integrins and mechanical forces, the role of integrins in cellular responses to stretch and fluid flow, and propose that some of these events are mechanistically related. Read more »

http://www.sciencedirect.com – Blood vessels are permanently subjected to mechanical forces in the form of stretch, encompassing cyclic mechanical strain due to the pulsatile nature of blood flow, and shear stress. Alterations in stretch or shear stress invariably produce transformations in the vessel wall that will aim to accommodate the new conditions and to ultimately restore basal levels of tensile stress and shear stress. Vascular cells are equipped with numerous receptors that allow them to detect and respond to the mechanical forces generated by pressure and shear stress. Read more »

http://www.fasebj.org – Vascular endothelial cells, by virtue of their unique anatomical position, are constantly exposed to the fluid mechanical forces generated by flowing blood. In vitro studies with model flow systems have demonstrated that wall shear stresses can modulate various aspects of endothelial structure and function. Certain of these effects appear to result from the regulation of expression of endothelial genes at the transcriptional level. Read more »