LAURA LAFON-HUGHES^1,2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.12, pp. 2531-2535, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.022713

Abstract Poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) is a highly negatively charged polymer. PAR is synthesized by poly(ADP-ribose)polymerases (PARPs) and is involved in the assembly and stabilization of macromolecular complexes. Here, the presence and putative roles of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation (PARylation) associated to adherens junctions (AJ) and the actin cytoskeleton in epithelial and Schwann cells, is reviewed. The hypothesis generated by analogy, stating that PAR is associated to AJ in other cell types, is postulated. According to this hypothesis, PAR associated to puncta adherentia in chemical synapses would participate in plasticity, learning and memory. In turn, PAR associated to fascia adherens in cardiomyocytes, would affect heart beating.… More >

DANILA BOBKOV^1,2,3,*, ANASTASIA POLYANSKAYA¹, ANASTASIA MUSORINA¹, GALINA POLJANSKAYA¹

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.9, pp. 2053-2058, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.019469

Abstract All non-immortalized mesenchymal stem cells have a limited proliferative potential, that is, replicative senescence (RS) is an integral characteristic of the life of all mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). It is known that one of the important signs of RS is a decrease of cell motility, and that violations of migration processes contribute to the deterioration of tissue regeneration. Therefore, the characterization of the properties of the cell line associated with RS is a prerequisite for the effective use of MSCs in restorative medicine. One of the key proteins regulating cell motility is the small GTPase RhoA. The main purpose of… More >

Yang Song¹, Jennifer Soto¹, Song Li^1,*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.16, Suppl.2, pp. 92-92, 2019, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2019.07345

Abstract Cell reprograming technologies have broad applications in cell therapy, disease modeling and drug screening. Direct reprogramming of fibroblasts into induced neuronal (iN) cells has been achieved via the forced expression of three transcription factors: Ascl1, Brn2 and Myt1l. Accumulative evidence suggests that biophysical factors in the microenvironment can regulate the epigenetic state and cell reprogramming. However, whether intracellular mechanical properties regulate cell reprogramming remains unknown. Here, we show for the first time, that the mechanical property of cells is modulated during the early phase of reprogramming as determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and high-throughput quantitative deformability cytometry (q-DC). We… More >

Dominik R. Haudenschild^∗,†, Jianfen Chen^∗,†, Nikolai Steklov^†, Martin K. Lotz^*, Darryl D. D’Lima^∗,‡

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.6, No.3, pp. 135-144, 2009, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2009.006.135

Abstract The actin cytoskeleton is a dynamic network required for intracellular transport, signal transduction, movement, attachment to the extracellular matrix, cellular stiffness and cell shape. Cell shape and the actin cytoskeletal configuration are linked to chondrocyte phenotype with regard to gene expression and matrix synthesis. Historically, the chondrocyte actin cytoskeleton has been studied after formaldehyde fixation - precluding real-time measurements of actin dynamics, or in monolayer cultured cells. Here we characterize the actin cytoskeleton of living low-passage human chondrocytes grown in three-dimensional culture using a stably expressed actin-GFP construct. GFP-actin expression does not substantially alter the production of endogenous actin at… More >

Colin K. Choi^*, Brian P. Helmke^∗,†

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.5, No.4, pp. 247-258, 2008, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2008.005.247

Abstract Hemodynamic shear stress guides a variety of endothelial phenotype characteristics, including cell morphology, cytoskeletal structure, and gene expression profile. The sensing and processing of extracellular fluid forces may be mediated by mechanotransmission through the actin cytoskeleton network to intracellular locations of signal initiation. In this study, we identify rapid actin-mediated morphological changes in living subconfluent and confluent bovine aortic endothelial cells (ECs) in response to onset of unidirectional steady fluid shear stress (15 dyn/cm²). After flow onset, subconfluent cells exhibited dynamic edge activity in lamellipodia and small ruffles in the downstream and side directions for the first 12 min; activity… More >