Department of Bioengineering, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, United States.
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, United States.
Curr Top Membr. 2020;86:143-184. doi: 10.1016/bs.ctm.2020.09.001. Epub 2020 Oct 2.
The importance of cell mechanics has long been recognized for the cell development and function. Biomechanics plays an important role in cell metabolism, regulation of mechanotransduction pathways and also modulation of nuclear response. The mechanical properties of the cell are likely determined by, among many others, the cytoskeleton elasticity, membrane tension and cell-substrate adhesion. This coordinated but complex mechanical interplay is required however, for the cell to respond to and influence in a reciprocal manner the chemical and mechanical signals from the extracellular matrix (ECM). In an effort to better and more fully understand the cell mechanics, the role of nuclear mechanics has emerged as an important contributor to the overall cellular mechanics. It is not too difficult to appreciate the physical connection between the nucleus and the cytoskeleton network that may be connected to the ECM through the cell membrane. Transmission of forces from ECM through this connection is essential for a wide range of cellular behaviors and functions such as cytoskeletal reorganization, nuclear movement, cell migration and differentiation. Unlike the cellular mechanics that can be measured using a number of biophysical techniques that were developed in the past few decades, it still remains a daunting challenge to probe the nuclear mechanics directly. In this paper, we therefore aim to provide informative description of the cell membrane and cytoskeleton mechanics, followed by unique computational modeling efforts to elucidate the nucleus-cytoskeleton coupling. Advances in our knowledge of complete cellular biomechanics and mechanotransduction may lead to clinical relevance and applications in mechano-diseases such as atherosclerosis, stem cell-based therapies, and the development of tissue engineered products.
细胞力学的重要性早已被认识到，它与细胞的发育和功能有关。生物力学在细胞代谢、机械转导途径的调节以及核反应的调节中都起着重要作用。细胞的力学特性可能取决于细胞骨架的弹性、膜张力和细胞与基质的黏附等多种因素。然而，为了使细胞能够以一种协调但复杂的方式对细胞外基质（ECM）中的化学和机械信号做出反应并产生相互影响，这种力学相互作用是必需的。为了更好地、更全面地理解细胞力学，核力学的作用已成为整体细胞力学的一个重要贡献因素。细胞核与细胞骨架网络之间的物理联系，通过细胞膜与 ECM 相连，这一点不难理解。通过这种连接，从 ECM 传递的力对于细胞的广泛行为和功能（如细胞骨架重组、核运动、细胞迁移和分化）至关重要。与可以使用过去几十年中开发的许多生物物理技术来测量的细胞力学不同，直接探测核力学仍然是一个艰巨的挑战。因此，在本文中，我们旨在提供有关细胞膜和细胞骨架力学的信息性描述，随后是独特的计算建模工作，以阐明核-细胞骨架的耦联。对完整细胞生物力学和机械转导的认识的进步可能会导致在动脉粥样硬化、基于干细胞的治疗和组织工程产品开发等机械疾病中的临床相关性和应用。
