Open AccessAppreciating force and shape — the rise of mechanotransduction in cell biology
Author(s) -
Thomas Iskratsch,
Haguy Wolfenson,
Michael P. Sheetz
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
nature reviews. molecular cell biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 37.461
H-Index - 431
eISSN - 1471-0080
pISSN - 1471-0072
DOI - 10.1038/nrm3903
Subject(s) - mechanotransduction , mechanobiology , motility , microbiology and biotechnology , cell mechanics , biology , cell adhesion , cell , nanotechnology , cytoskeleton , genetics , materials science
Although the shapes of organisms are encoded in their genome, the developmental processes that lead to the final form of vertebrates involve a constant feedback between dynamic mechanical forces, and cell growth and motility. Mechanobiology has emerged as a discipline dedicated to the study of the effects of mechanical forces and geometry on cell growth and motility—for example, during cell-matrix adhesion development—through the signalling process of mechanotransduction.