Woon JYX
Zyxin regulates embryonic stem cell fate by modulating mechanical and biochemical signaling interface
Biochemical signaling and mechano-transduction are both critical in regulating stem cell fate. How crosstalk between mechanical and biochemical cues influences embryonic development, however, is not extensively investigated.
ReadZyxin Is Involved in Fibroblast Rigidity Sensing and Durotaxis
Focal adhesions (FAs) play an important role in sensing mechanical cues in the extracellular matrix and transducing forces from the extracellular matrix into biological signals (Riveline et al., 2001). The cells can sense and respond to changes in the rigidity of the underlying substrates. When cells are grown on substrates of varying rigidity, they exert larger traction stress and migrate towards more rigid substrates in a phenomenon known as durotaxis (Lo et al., 2000). In order to sense substrate rigidity, the cells apply traction stress through FAs and actin stress fibres to measure mechanical responses of the substrate (Discher et al., 2005; Kobayashi and Sokabe, 2010; Prager-Khoutorsky et al., 2011). While the FA structure of mouse fibroblasts has been elucidated at the nanoscale level (Kanchanawong et al., 2010), little is known about the substrate rigidity sensing mechanisms of the cell.
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