Physiological and Pathological Implications for Mechanotransduction in the Brain

Dear Colleagues,

The process by which a mechanical force is transduced into an electrical or chemical signal to evoke a cellular response is referred to as mechanotransduction. Numerous cells are endowed with mechanosensitive proteins, but their functional implication in both health and disease is poorly understood, rendering this topic an active area of research. Mechanical forces such as pressure and wall shear stress are a main component of the cardiovascular system. Importantly, these forces vary with age and disease conditions such as vessel stiffness, hypertension and Alzheimer’s disease. Mechanostimulation can also result from, or be amplified by, changes in the composition of the cell membrane, the extracellular matrix, cell volume and hydrodynamics, to name a few. In the brain, mechanostimulation, in response to increases in intravascular pressure and intracranial pressure, has been reported in neurons and glial cells, but the underlying physiological implication of this is unclear. The recently discovered Piezo1 and Piezo2 ion channels provided evidence for the importance of mechanically activated ion channels in development, inflammation, exercise, baroreceptor sensing of blood pressure, pain and lymphatic function, to name a few. Likewise, other mechanically activated ion channels have been implicated in biological processes, but our knowledge of how they become activated, what type of force is transduced, how the is signal discriminated, and many other questions remain to be elucidated. 

Given that mechanosensors are present in a wide range of cell types, new hypotheses and important discoveries are projected. In light of this exciting emerging topic, we call for studies addressing the impact of mechanotransduction in cell function. We invite studies exploring innovative approaches to study the process of mechanotransduction in cell-to-cell interactions, dichotomies in cellular responses, the onset and progression of diseases, and, more generally, provocative hypotheses with exciting findings. 

Prof. Jessica Filosa
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cells is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• mechanically activated ion channels
• Piezo
• TRP
• calcium
• pressure
• pulsatility
• shear