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Biology
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Mechanobiology
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Mechanobiology

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Biophysics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2021) | Viewed by 20110

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Tae-Jin Kim

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biological Sciences, Pusan National University, Pusan 46241, Republic of Korea
Interests: mechanobiology; cell–cell communication; cell–ECM interaction; FRET imaging
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Youhua Tan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
Interests: mechanobiology; mechano-oncology; tumor metastasis; cell mechanics; cancer stem cell

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past few decades, mechanobiology has emerged at the interface of biology, medicine, biophysics, and bioengineering. Mechanobiology refers to the study of how biological components such as cells, tissues, and organs can sense and respond to mechanical cues to regulate numerous biological processes, including development, differentiation, physiology, and diseases.

This Special Issue invites authors to contribute original scientific reports, research articles, communications, and reviews that cover the recent advances in all aspects of mechanobiology.

Topics include but are not limited to the following:

  • Mechanobiology in stem cells;
  • Mechanobiology in cancer;
  • Mechanobiology in physiology;
  • Mechanobiology in nucleus (e.g., nuclear mechanics, gene/geneome regulation);
  • Mechanobiology in tissue development and homeostasis;
  • Mechanobiology in health and disease;
  • Cellular mechanosensing, mechanotransduction, and mechanoresponse;
  • Biomechanics;
  • Innovative approaches for mechanobiology research.
Dr. Kim Tae-Jin
Dr. Youhua Tan
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. Biology is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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.

Keywords

  • Mechanotransduction
  • Mechanical cues
  • Biomechanics
  • Tissue engineering
  • Mechanosensitive channels
  • Mechanical signals
  • Extracellular matrix
  • Stem cells
  • Biomaterials
  • Diseases

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Editorial

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3 pages, 203 KiB  
Editorial
Mechanobiology: A New Frontier in Biology
by Tae-Jin Kim
Biology 2021, 10(7), 570; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology10070570 - 22 Jun 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3550
Abstract
As we observe an increase in muscle mass by lifting weights or a significant mass loss in musculoskeletal tissues of astronauts returning after a stay in space, we note the manifestation of the mechanism of mechanotransduction that is central to mechanobiology [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanobiology)

Research

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18 pages, 808 KiB  
Article
Mechanical Behavior of Blood Vessels: Elastic and Viscoelastic Contributions
by David Sánchez-Molina, Silvia García-Vilana, Jordi Llumà, Ignasi Galtés, Juan Velázquez-Ameijide, Mari Carmen Rebollo-Soria and Carlos Arregui-Dalmases
Biology 2021, 10(9), 831; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology10090831 - 26 Aug 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3282
Abstract
The mechanical properties of the cerebral bridging veins (CBVs) were studied using advanced microtensile equipment. Detailed high-quality curves were obtained at different strain rates, showing a clearly nonlinear stress–strain response. In addition, the tissue of the CBVs exhibits stress relaxation and a preconditioning [...] Read more.
The mechanical properties of the cerebral bridging veins (CBVs) were studied using advanced microtensile equipment. Detailed high-quality curves were obtained at different strain rates, showing a clearly nonlinear stress–strain response. In addition, the tissue of the CBVs exhibits stress relaxation and a preconditioning effect under cyclic loading, unequivocal indications of viscoelastic behavior. Interestingly, most previous literature that conducts uniaxial tensile tests had not found significant viscoelastic effects in CBVs, but the use of more sensitive tests allowed to observe the viscoelastic effects. For that reason, a careful mathematical analysis is presented, clarifying why in uniaxial tests with moderate strain rates, it is difficult to observe any viscoelastic effect. The analysis provides a theoretical explanation as to why many recent studies that investigated mechanical properties did not find a significant viscoelastic effect, even though in other circumstances, the CBV tissue would clearly exhibit viscoelastic behavior. Finally, this study provides reference values for the usual mechanical properties, as well as calculations of constitutive parameters for nonlinear elastic and viscoelastic models that would allow more accurate numerical simulation of CBVs in Finite Element-based computational models in future works. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanobiology)
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14 pages, 4081 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Linear vs. Cyclic RGD Pentapeptide Interactions with Integrin αvβ3 by Molecular Dynamics Simulations
by Na Li, Simei Qiu, Ying Fang, Jianhua Wu and Quhuan Li
Biology 2021, 10(7), 688; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology10070688 - 20 Jul 2021
Cited by 31 | Viewed by 4043
Abstract
Integrin αvβ3 interacting with the short Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) motif plays a critical role in the progression of several types of tumors. However, the effects of the RGD structure (cyclic or linear) with integrin αvβ3 at the atomic [...] Read more.
Integrin αvβ3 interacting with the short Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) motif plays a critical role in the progression of several types of tumors. However, the effects of the RGD structure (cyclic or linear) with integrin αvβ3 at the atomic level remain poorly understood. Here, we performed association and dissociation dynamic simulations for integrin αvβ3 in complex with a linear or cyclic pentapeptide by steered molecular dynamics simulations. Compared with cyclic RGD, the linear RGD peptide triggers instability of the configurational changes, mainly resting with the RGD domain due to its flexibility. The main interaction energy between Mg2+ and cyclic RGD is much stronger than that of the linear RGD system by the well shield to lessen attacks by free water molecules. The force-dependent dissociation results show that it is easier for linear RGD peptides to leave the active site and much quicker than the cyclic RGD ligand, whereas it is harder to enter the appropriate active binding site in linear RGD. The Ser123-AspRGD bond may play a critical role in the allosteric pathway. Our findings provide insights into the dynamics of αvβ3 interactions with linear and cyclic RGD ligands and contribute to the application of RGD-based strategies in preclinical therapy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanobiology)
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14 pages, 2003 KiB  
Article
Cell Cytoskeleton and Stiffness Are Mechanical Indicators of Organotropism in Breast Cancer
by Kai Tang, Ying Xin, Keming Li, Xi Chen and Youhua Tan
Biology 2021, 10(4), 259; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology10040259 - 25 Mar 2021
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 4637
Abstract
Tumor metastasis involves the dissemination of tumor cells from the primary lesion to other organs and the subsequent formation of secondary tumors, which leads to the majority of cancer-related deaths. Clinical findings show that cancer cell dissemination is not random but exhibits organ [...] Read more.
Tumor metastasis involves the dissemination of tumor cells from the primary lesion to other organs and the subsequent formation of secondary tumors, which leads to the majority of cancer-related deaths. Clinical findings show that cancer cell dissemination is not random but exhibits organ preference or organotropism. While intrinsic biochemical factors of cancer cells have been extensively studied in organotropism, much less is known about the role of cell cytoskeleton and mechanics. Herein, we demonstrate that cell cytoskeleton and mechanics are correlated with organotropism. The result of cell stiffness measurements shows that breast cancer cells with bone tropism are much stiffer with enhanced F-actin, while tumor cells with brain tropism are softer with lower F-actin than their parental cells. The difference in cellular stiffness matches the difference in the rigidity of their metastasized organs. Further, disrupting the cytoskeleton of breast cancer cells with bone tropism not only elevates the expressions of brain metastasis-related genes but also increases cell spreading and proliferation on soft substrates mimicking the stiffness of brain tissue. Stabilizing the cytoskeleton of cancer cells with brain tropism upregulates bone metastasis-related genes while reduces the mechanoadaptation ability on soft substrates. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that cell cytoskeleton and biophysical properties of breast cancer subpopulations correlate with their metastatic preference in terms of gene expression pattern and mechanoadaptation ability, implying the potential role of cell cytoskeleton in organotropism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanobiology)
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Other

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7 pages, 5138 KiB  
Technical Note
Addressing Discrepancies between Experimental and Computational Procedures
by Milan Toma, Satvinder K. Guru, Wayne Wu, May Ali and Chi Wei Ong
Biology 2021, 10(6), 536; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology10060536 - 15 Jun 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3074
Abstract
Imaging subject-specific heart valve, a crucial step to its design, has experimental variables that if unaccounted for, may lead to erroneous computational analysis and geometric errors of the resulting model. Preparation methods are developed to mitigate some sources of the geometric error. However, [...] Read more.
Imaging subject-specific heart valve, a crucial step to its design, has experimental variables that if unaccounted for, may lead to erroneous computational analysis and geometric errors of the resulting model. Preparation methods are developed to mitigate some sources of the geometric error. However, the resulting 3D geometry often does not retain the original dimensions before excision. Inverse fluid–structure interaction analysis is used to analyze the resulting geometry and to assess the valve’s closure. Based on the resulting closure, it is determined if the geometry used can yield realistic results. If full closure is not reached, the geometry is adjusted adequately until closure is observed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanobiology)
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