mechanotransduction.org

http://www.jneurosci.org – To many animals, including humans, some of the best things in life are mechanical. Not only courtship and sex but also simple movements such as walking depend on the ability to transform mechanical energy in the form of touch, sound, and muscle tension into ionic currents. This ability is also essential for control of osmotic balance, bladder function, and blood pressure in mammals. To meet these diverse needs, animals bear numerous sensory organs that contain either ciliated or nonciliated mechanoreceptor cells. Vertebrate hair cells and insect chordotonal neurons are examples of ciliated mechanoreceptor cells; mechanoreceptive neurons that innervate the body surface of nematodes, insects, and mammals are examples of nonciliated mechanoreceptor cells. All of these cells share the ability to signal the presence of mechanical stimuli by opening ion channels. Mechanical energy may activate mechanotransduction channels directly or indirectly. Only now are we beginning to uncover proteins that are likely constituents of mechanotransduction channels and the protein machinery that couples applied forces and channel activation. Read »