Chemical and mechanical stimuli act on common signal transduction and cytoskeletal networks.

ABSTRACT: Signal transduction pathways activated by chemoattractants have been extensively studied, but little is known about the events mediating responses to mechanical stimuli. We discovered that acute mechanical perturbation of cells triggered transient activation of all tested components of the chemotactic signal transduction network, as well as actin polymerization. Similarly to chemoattractants, the shear flow-induced signal transduction events displayed features of excitability, including the ability to mount a full response irrespective of the length of the stimulation and a refractory period that is shared with that generated by chemoattractants. Loss of G protein subunits, inhibition of multiple signal transduction events, or disruption of calcium signaling attenuated the response to acut

SUBMITTER: Artemenko Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5127353 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature