Mechanotransduction in an extracted cell model: Fyn drives stretch- and flow-elicited PECAM-1 phosphorylation.

ABSTRACT: Mechanosensing followed by mechanoresponses by cells is well established, but the mechanisms by which mechanical force is converted into biochemical events are poorly understood. Vascular endothelial cells (ECs) exhibit flow- and stretch-dependent responses and are widely used as a model for studying mechanotransduction in mammalian cells. Platelet EC adhesion molecule 1 (PECAM-1) is tyrosine phosphorylated when ECs are exposed to flow or when PECAM-1 is directly pulled, suggesting that it is a mechanochemical converter. We show that PECAM-1 phosphorylation occurs when detergent-extracted EC monolayers are stretched, indicating that this phosphorylation is mechanically triggered and does not require the intact plasma membrane and soluble cytoplasmic components. Using kinase inhibitors and

SUBMITTER: Chiu YJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2518713 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature