Proteins as Mechano-Chemical Signalling Switches

Abstract

Since the physical and biochemical properties of extracellular matrix provide critical cues to bacteria and cells, from mechanoregulated bacterial adhesion to angiogenesis, and finally to the differentiation of stem cells, it is of major importance to gain mechanistic insights into how mechanical stretching of extracellular matrix molecules can alter various cell functions. While investigating these three distinct physiological processes, common motifs are emerging how bacteria and cells take advantage of mechanical forces to regulate the function of proteins by stretching them out of their equilibrium structures. In this context, new assays and techniques were developed that allow probing how the stretching of proteins alters their structure-function relationships. Taken together, new insights into various underpinning mechanotransduction events are emerging how mechanical cues are translated into biochemical signals that ultimately regulate bacterial adhesion and various cellular processes.