Integrated Graduate Program in Cellular, Molecular and Biomedical, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York, USA.
Adv Exp Med Biol. 2012;739:142-55. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4614-1704-0_9.
Multiple senses, including hearing, touch and osmotic regulation, require the ability to convert force into an electrical signal: A process called mechanotransduction. Mechanotransduction occurs through specialized proteins that open an ion channel pore in response to a mechanical stimulus. Many of these proteins remain unidentified in vertebrates, but known mechanotransduction channels in lower organisms provide clues into their identity and mechanism. Bacteria, fruit flies and nematodes have all been used to elucidate the molecules necessary for force transduction. This chapter discusses many different mechanical senses and takes an evolutionary approach to review the proteins responsible for mechanotransduction in various biological kingdoms.
多种感觉，包括听觉、触觉和渗透压调节，都需要将力转换为电信号的能力：这个过程被称为机械转导。机械转导通过专门的蛋白质来实现，这些蛋白质在受到机械刺激时会打开离子通道孔。在脊椎动物中，许多这样的蛋白质仍然没有被识别，但在低等生物中已知的机械转导通道为它们的身份和机制提供了线索。细菌、果蝇和线虫都被用来阐明力转导所必需的分子。本章讨论了许多不同的机械感觉，并从进化的角度回顾了各种生物王国中负责机械转导的蛋白质。
