Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2011 Oct;22(5):648-54. doi: 10.1016/j.copbio.2011.04.007. Epub 2011 Apr 30.
The ability of cells to extract biophysical information from their extracellular environment and convert it to biochemical signals is known as mechanotransduction. Here we detail three passive, 'inside-out' mechanotransduction mechanisms with an emphasis on the mechanosensing pathways involved in creating these signal: Rho/ROCK, stretch-activated channels, and 'Molecular Strain Gauges.' We also examine how molecular tools have been used to perturb these pathways to better understand their interconnectivity. However, perturbing pathways may have unintended confounding effects, which must also be addressed. By discovering and understanding mechanosensitive pathways, the ability to influence them for clinical applications increases.
细胞从细胞外环境中提取生物物理信息并将其转化为生化信号的能力被称为力学转导。在这里，我们详细介绍了三种被动的“内向外”力学转导机制，重点介绍了参与产生这些信号的机械传感途径：Rho/ROCK、张力激活通道和“分子应变计”。我们还研究了如何使用分子工具来干扰这些途径，以更好地理解它们的相互连接性。然而，干扰途径可能会产生意想不到的混杂效应，这也必须得到解决。通过发现和理解机械敏感途径，可以增加对其进行临床应用的能力。
