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Cellular adhesion

Instant integrin mechanosensing

Nature Materials volume 16, pages 1173–1174 (2017)Cite this article

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Single-cell force spectroscopy reveals rapid, biphasic integrin activation and reinforcement of cell–matrix bonds during the initial steps of fibroblast adhesion.

Most cells in the human body attach to the extracellular matrix (ECM), a polymer network connecting tissues, in order to survive and function properly. Cellular adhesion to the ECM is mediated by transmembrane adhesion molecules such as integrins1. These proteins bind to the ECM protein fibronectin2 and are the main contributors for cellular adhesion. In the early 1990s it was shown that integrins also function as a mechanosensor that mediates force transmission to the actin cytoskeleton3, an intracellular polymer network that determines cellular stiffness. Since then several studies have identified intracellular proteins such as talin4 and vinculin5 that facilitate force sensing and response. While much is known about the force sensing process, a comprehensive understanding of the early processes that regulate adhesion and mechanical signalling at the cell surface — namely, how quickly cells sense and respond to force via integrins — is still not available. Now, writing in Nature Materials, Daniel Müller and colleagues6 report that integrin mechanosensing during adhesion is fast and involves the biphasic reinforcement of cell–ECM linkage.

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Figure 1: Rapid integrin mechanosensing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, Hubei, China

    Ning Wang

  2. Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, Illinois, USA

    Ning Wang

Authors
  1. Ning Wang
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Correspondence to Ning Wang.

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Wang, N. Instant integrin mechanosensing. Nature Mater 16, 1173–1174 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat5041

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