Molecular Nanomechanical Mapping of Histamine-Induced Smooth Muscle Cell Contraction and Shortening.

ABSTRACT: Mechanical response to external stimuli is a conserved feature of many cell types. For example, neurotransmitters (e.g., histamine) trigger calcium signals that induce actomyosin-regulated contraction of airway smooth muscle (ASM); the resulting cell shortening causes airway narrowing, the excess of which can cause asthma. Despite intensive studies, however, it remains unclear how physical forces are propagated through focal adhesion (FA)-the major force-transmission machinery of the cell-during ASM shortening. We provide a nanomechanical platform to directly image single molecule forces during ASM cell shortening by repurposing DNA tension sensors. Surprisingly, cell shortening and FA disassembly that immediately precedes it occurred long after histamine-evoked increases in intracellular

SUBMITTER: Jo MH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10144385 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature