RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Role of Membrane-tension Gated Ca Flux in Cell Mechanosensation
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 134395
DO 10.1101/134395
A1 Lijuan He
A1 Jiaxiang Tao
A1 Fangwei Si
A1 Yi Wu
A1 Tiffany Wu
A1 Vishnu Prasath
A1 Denis Wirtz
A1 Sean X. Sun
YR 2017
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/05/04/134395.abstract
AB Eukaryotic cells are sensitive to mechanical forces that they experience from the environment. The process of mechanosensation is complex, and involves elements such as the cytoskeleton and active contraction from myosin motors. Ultimately, mechanosensation is connected to changes in gene expression in the cell, or mechanotransduction. While the involvement of the cytoskeleton in mechanosensation is known, processes upstream to cytoskeletal changes is unclear. In this paper, using a microfluidic device that mechanically compresses live cells, we demonstrate that calcium currents and membrane tension-sensitive ion channels directly signals to the Rho GTPase and myosin contraction. In response to membrane tension changes, cell actively regulates cortical myosin contraction to balance external forces. The process is captured by a mechanochemical model where membrane tension, myosin contraction and the osmotic pressure difference between the cytoplasm and extracellular environment are connected by mechanical force-balance. Finally, to complete the picture of mechanotransduction, we find that the tension-sensitive transcription factor YAP translocates from the nucleus to the cytoplasm in response to mechanical compression.