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Mechanoadaptation of Cell Structures, Signaling Pathways and Molecules

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Asier Echarri

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Guest Editor

Mechanoadaptation and Caveolae Biology Lab, Cell Biology and Development Area, National Institute for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC), 28029 Madrid, Spain
Interests: mechanobiology; actin cytoskeleton; plasma membrane organization; endocytosis and intracellular trafficking; Abl kinases

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The physical properties of the environment surrounding all organisms play a major role in defining how the organisms look at the macroscopical and microscopical levels. A clear example of this is the effect of gravity, which tunes organismal and cellular biology. In addition to this general force affecting all creatures, there are many local forces and physical constraints that also impinge on the biology of cells in multicellular and unicellular organisms. To be able to adapt to these local forces, cells have evolved to select molecules, molecular circuits and cell structures that can sense those forces and translate them into biochemical signals. Thus, these biochemical changes result in an adaptation to those forces: this is known as mechanoadaptation. This adaptation necessarily involves the activation of mechanosensitive molecules, which leads to the regulation of mechanotransduction pathways that ultimately results in morphological alterations of the major cell structures, such as the actin cytoskeleton, the nucleus or the plasma membrane. However, the molecular mechanisms by which cells adapt to mechanical cues are still poorly understood.

This Special Issue aims to shed light on the mechanisms that sense and transduce mechanical cues for mechanoadaptation. Areas of interest include mechanosensitive molecules and pathways, the physico-chemical reorganization of cell structures and organelles upon force, the interplay between metabolism and mechanical forces, nuclear and genome mechanoadaptation, 3D mechanobiology, lipid biology and mechanical forces, and mathematical modelling and artificial intelligence applied to mechanobiology. We welcome reviews, commentaries and original research articles.

Dr. Asier Echarri
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Mechanosensitive molecules
Mechanotransduction pathways
Genome mechanoadaptation
Organelles and forces
Lipids and mechanoadaptation
Metabolism and mechanoadaptation

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 2534 KiB

Open AccessArticle

OzTracs: Optical Osmolality Reporters Engineered from Mechanosensitive Ion Channels

by Thomas J. Kleist, I Winnie Lin, Sophia Xu, Grigory Maksaev, Mayuri Sadoine, Elizabeth S. Haswell, Wolf B. Frommer and Michael M. Wudick

Biomolecules 2022, 12(6), 787; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom12060787 - 4 Jun 2022

Viewed by 3004

Abstract

Interactions between physical forces and membrane proteins underpin many forms of environmental sensation and acclimation. Microbes survive osmotic stresses with the help of mechanically gated ion channels and osmolyte transporters. Plant mechanosensitive ion channels have been shown to function in defense signaling. Here, we engineered genetically encoded osmolality sensors (OzTracs) by fusing fluorescent protein spectral variants to the mechanosensitive ion channels MscL from E. coli or MSL10 from A. thaliana. When expressed in yeast cells, the OzTrac sensors reported osmolality changes as a proportional change in the emission ratio of the two fluorescent protein domains. Live-cell imaging revealed an accumulation of fluorescent sensors in internal aggregates, presumably derived from the endomembrane system. Thus, OzTrac sensors serve as osmolality-dependent reporters through an indirect mechanism, such as effects on molecular crowding or fluorophore solvation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanoadaptation of Cell Structures, Signaling Pathways and Molecules)

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Review

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21 pages, 2335 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

A Multisensory Network Drives Nuclear Mechanoadaptation

by Asier Echarri

Biomolecules 2022, 12(3), 404; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom12030404 - 4 Mar 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2594

Abstract

Cells have adapted to mechanical forces early in evolution and have developed multiple mechanisms ensuring sensing of, and adaptation to, the diversity of forces operating outside and within organisms. The nucleus must necessarily adapt to all types of mechanical signals, as its functions are essential for virtually all cell processes, many of which are tuned by mechanical cues. To sense forces, the nucleus is physically connected with the cytoskeleton, which senses and transmits forces generated outside and inside the cell. The nuclear LINC complex bridges the cytoskeleton and the nuclear lamina to transmit mechanical information up to the chromatin. This system creates a force-sensing macromolecular complex that, however, is not sufficient to regulate all nuclear mechanoadaptation processes. Within the nucleus, additional mechanosensitive structures, including the nuclear envelope and the nuclear pore complex, function to regulate nuclear mechanoadaptation. Similarly, extra nuclear mechanosensitive systems based on plasma membrane dynamics, mechanotransduce information to the nucleus. Thus, the nucleus has the intrinsic structural components needed to receive and interpret mechanical inputs, but also rely on extra nuclear mechano-sensors that activate nuclear regulators in response to force. Thus, a network of mechanosensitive cell structures ensures that the nucleus has a tunable response to mechanical cues. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanoadaptation of Cell Structures, Signaling Pathways and Molecules)

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