Ana M. Vela-AlcáNtara¹, Diego J. HernáNdez-SáNchez^1,2, Elisa Tamariz^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.49, No.9, pp. 1663-1695, 2025, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2025.066201 - 25 September 2025

Abstract Cells are exposed to various mechanical forces, including extracellular and intracellular forces such as stiffness, tension, compression, viscosity, and shear stress, which regulate cell biology. The process of transducing mechanical stimuli into biochemical signals is termed mechanotransduction. These mechanical forces can regulate protein and gene expression, thereby impacting cell morphology, adhesion, proliferation, apoptosis, and migration. During cancer development, significant changes in extracellular and intracellular mechanical properties occur, resulting in altered mechanical inputs to which cells are exposed. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), key post-transcriptional regulators of gene and protein expression, are increasingly recognized as mechanosensitive molecules involved in More >

AUGUSTO FUSCO¹, STEFANO BONOMI^2,*, LUCA PADUA^1,2

BIOCELL, Vol.49, No.1, pp. 1-5, 2025, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2024.058418 - 24 January 2025

Abstract Connective tissue is a dynamic structure that reacts to environmental cues to maintain homeostasis, including mechanical properties. Mechanical load influences extracellular matrix (ECM)—cell interactions and modulates cellular behavior. Mechano-regulation processes involve matrix modification and cell activation to preserve tissue function. The ECM remodeling is crucial for force transmission. Cytoskeleton components are involved in force sensing and transmission, affecting cellular adhesion, motility, and gene expression. Proper mechanical loading helps to maintain tissue health, while imbalances may lead to pathological processes. Active and passive movement, including manual mobilization, improves connective tissue elasticity, promotes ECM-cell homeostasis, and More > Graphic Abstract

Bahareh Tajvidi Safa¹, Jordan Rosenbohm¹, Ruiguo Yang^1,2,*

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.31, No.4, pp. 1-1, 2024, DOI:10.32604/icces.2024.011477

Abstract Cell-cell adhesions are often subjected to mechanical strains of different rates and magnitudes in normal tissue function and in disease conditions. To date, few strategies exist to directly and quantitatively investigate the effect of mechanical forces exerted by cell-cell adhesions, even less the effect of applied load on the transduction of these forces into biochemical signals. To address this knowledge gap, we designed and fabricated a platform that performs quantitative mechanical characterization of single cell-cell adhesion structures using two photon polymerization of multiple materials [1]. This microsystem provides interrogation and stimulation of cell-cell junctions through… More >

FREDERICK H. SILVER^1,2,*, TANMAY DESHMUKH²

BIOCELL, Vol.48, No.4, pp. 525-540, 2024, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2024.047965 - 09 April 2024

Abstract All tissues in the body are subjected externally to gravity and internally by collagen fibril and cellular retractive forces that create stress and energy equilibrium required for homeostasis. Mechanotransduction involves mechanical work (force through a distance) and energy storage as kinetic and potential energy. This leads to changes in cell mitosis or apoptosis and the synthesis or loss of tissue components. It involves the application of energy directly to cells through integrin-mediated processes, cell-cell connections, stretching of the cell cytoplasm, and activation of the cell nucleus via yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-motif… More >

AAYUSHI RANDHAWA^1,2, SAYAN DEB DUTTA¹, KEYA GANGULY¹, TEJAL V. PATIL^1,2, RACHMI LUTHFIKASARI¹, KI-TAEK LIM^1,2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.4, pp. 789-808, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.026217 - 08 March 2023

Abstract Tissues are made up of cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM) which surrounds them. These cells and tissues are actively adaptable to enduring significant stress that occurs in daily life. This astonishing mechanical stress develops due to the interaction between the live cells and the non-living ECM. Cells in the matrix microenvironment can sense the signals and forces produced and initiate a signaling cascade that plays a crucial role in the body’s normal functioning and influences various properties of the native cells, including growth, proliferation, and differentiation. However, the matrix’s characteristic features also impact the More >

GIORDANO WOSGRAU CALLONI^1,*, MARCO AUGUSTO STIMAMIGLIO^2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.6, pp. 1375-1381, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.019681 - 07 February 2022

Abstract Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and their byproducts have been widely validated as potential therapeutic products for regenerative medicine. The therapeutic effects result mainly from the paracrine activity of MSCs, which consists of the secretion of bioactive molecules, whether dispersed in medium conditioned by cell culture or encapsulated in extracellular vesicles. The composition of the MSC secretome, which represents the set of these secreted cellular products, is crucial for the performance of the desired therapeutic functions. Different cell culture strategies have been employed to adjust the secretome composition of MSCs to obtain the best therapeutic responses More >

FREDERICK H. SILVER

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.2, pp. 297-299, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.017406 - 20 October 2021

Abstract Gravity plays a central role in vertebrate development and evolution. Mechanotransduction involves the tensile tethering of veins and arteries, connections between the epidermis and dermis in skin, tensile stress concentrations that occur at tissue interfaces, cell-cell interactions, cell-collagen fiber stress transfer in extracellular matrix and fluid shear flow. While attention in the past has been directed at understanding the myriad of biochemical players associated with mechanotransduction pathways, less attention has been focused on determining the tensile mechanical behavior of tissues in vivo. Fibroblasts sit on the surface of collagen fibers in living skin and exert a More >

HAORAN SU¹, KEXIN LI¹, XIAO LIU^1,*, JING DU¹, LI WANG⁴, XIAOYAN DENG^3,*, YUBO FAN^1,2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.45, No.4, pp. 797-811, 2021, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.014900 - 22 April 2021

Abstract Endothelial cells arranged on the vessel lumen are constantly stimulated by blood flow, blood pressure and pressureinduced cyclic stretch. These stimuli are sensed through mechanical sensory structures and converted into a series of functional responses through mechanotransduction pathways. The process will eventually affect vascular health. Therefore, there has been an urgent need to establish in vitro endothelial biomechanics and mechanobiology of models, which reproduce three-dimensional structure vascular system. In recent years, the rapid development in microfluidic technology makes it possible to replicate the key structural and functionally biomechanical characteristics of vessels. Here, we summarized the progress More >

Qiuping Liu¹, Guanbin Song^1,*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.16, Suppl.2, pp. 127-127, 2019, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2019.07105

Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent and lethal malignancies worldwide. Increased matrix stiffness of extracellular matrix (ECM) is commonly associated with HCC. During tumour formation and expansion, increasing glucose metabolism is necessary for unrestricted growth of tumour cells. Yet, the correlation between matrix stiffness and glucose metabolism in the development of HCC remains unknown. In this study, we aim to investigate the effect of matrix stiffness on glucose metabolism and migration of MHCC97L and HepG2 hepatoma cells, and explore the mechanotransduction involved in this process. Polyacrylamide hydrogels with stiffness gradients of 6,… More >

Xiao Lu^1,*, Ghassan Kassab¹

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.16, Suppl.2, pp. 84-86, 2019, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2019.07089

Abstract This article has no abstract. More >