http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov – Osteoblasts are key components of the bone multicellular unit and have a seminal role in bone remodeling, which is an essential function for the maintenance of the structural integrity and metabolic capacity of the skeleton. The coordinated function of skeletal cells is regulated by several hormones, growth factors and mechanical cues that act via interconnected signaling networks, resulting in the activation of specific transcription factors and, in turn, their target genes. Read more »

http://hyper.ahajournals.org – Mechanical properties of the cells are important in controlling cell shape, cell migration, and other functions. To understand how cytoskeletal (CSK) filaments interact with one another mechanically, mechanical properties of adherent endothelial cells were analyzed after treatment with CSK-disrupting drugs. Read more »

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http://ajpheart.physiology.org – Vascular endothelial cells (ECs) play significant roles in regulating circulatory functions. Mechanical stimuli, including the stretch and shear stress resulting from circulatory pressure and flow, modulate EC functions by activating mechanosensors, signaling pathways, and gene and protein expressions. Read more »

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov – Many investigators have engineered diverse connective tissues having good mechanical properties, yet few tools enable a global understanding of the associated formation of collagen fibers, the primary determinant of connective tissue stiffness. Toward this end, we developed a biomechanical model for collagenous tissues grown on polymer scaffolds that accounts for the kinetics of polymer degradation as well as the synthesis and degradation of multiple families of collagen fibers in response to cyclic strains imparted in a bioreactor. Read more »

http://www.internationaljournalofcardiology.com – The dimensions of the aortic valve components condition its ability to prevent blood from flowing back into the heart. While the theoretical parameters for best trileaflet valve performance have already been established, an effective approach to describe other less optimal, but functional models has been lacking. Our goal was to establish a method to determine by how much the dimensions of the aortic valve components can vary while still maintaining proper function. Read more »

http://www.sciencedirect.com – In hair cells, mechanotransduction channels are gated by tip links, the extracellular filaments that consist of cadherin 23 (CDH23) and protocadherin 15 (PCDH15) and connect the stereocilia of each hair cell. However, which molecules mediate cadherin function at tip links is not known. Here we show that the PDZ-domain protein harmonin is a component of the upper tip-link density (UTLD), where CDH23 inserts into the stereociliary membrane. Harmonin domains that mediate interactions with CDH23 and F-actin control harmonin localization in stereocilia and are necessary for normal hearing. Read more »

http://physrev.physiology.org – Mechanical forces associated with blood flow play important roles in the acute control of vascular tone, the regulation of arterial structure and remodeling, and the localization of atherosclerotic lesions. Major regulation of the blood vessel responses occurs by the action of hemodynamic shear stresses on the endothelium. The transmission of hemodynamic forces throughout the endothelium and the mechanotransduction mechanisms that lead to biophysical, biochemical, and gene regulatory responses of endothelial cells to hemodynamic shear stresses are reviewed. Read more »

http://www.sciencedirect.com – In the inner ear, sensory hair cells not only detect but also amplify the softest sounds, allowing us to hear over an extraordinarily wide intensity range. This amplification is frequency specific, giving rise to exquisite frequency discrimination. Hair cells detect sounds with their mechanotransduction apparatus, which is only now being dissected molecularly. Signal detection is not the only role of this molecular network; amplification of low-amplitude signals by hair bundles seems to be universal in hair cells. Read more »

http://www.sciencedirect.com – Mechanical cues influence a wide range of cellular behaviors including motility, differentiation, and tumorigenesis. Although previous studies elucidated the role of specific players such as ion channels and focal adhesions as local mechanosensors, the investigation of how mechanical perturbations propagate across the cell is necessary to understand the spatial coordination of cellular processes. Here we quantify the magnitude and timing of intracellular stress propagation, using atomic force microscopy and Read more »