Abstract
The mechanical response of living cells against external stimuli depends largely on the physical and biochemical properties of an intracellular structure called cytoskeleton. Three main kinds of filamentous protein structures, namely, microtubules, intermediate filaments, and actin thin filaments comprise the cytoskeleton. In the case of cells cultured on an adhesive substrate, the development of actin-based cytoskeleton, especially linearly bundled actin filaments called stress fibers (SFs), is well established. SFs are formed close to the cell membrane with one or both of their ends associated with the transmembrane structure called the focal adhesion (FA). In this article, we review some fundamental facts about SFs in live cells starting from the early description of the bundled filaments as observed under optical and electron microscopies. The morphology, chemical components, and biological functions of SFs, and recent work on the mechanical nature of SFs are reviewed.
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