title: 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 small interfering RNAs, we identify Fyn as the PECAM-1 kinase associated with the model. We further show that stretch- and flow-induced PECAM-1 phosphorylation in intact ECs is abolished when Fyn expression is down-regulated. We suggest that PECAM-1 and Fyn are essential components of a PECAM-1-based mechanosensory complex in ECs.
authors: Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, West Henrietta, NY 14586, USA.
authors: Yi-Jen
authors: YJ
authors: Chiu
authors: Elena
authors: E
authors: McBeath
authors: Keigi
authors: K
authors: Fujiwara
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002417:Cattle; D002457:Cell Extracts; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D003902:Detergents / Q000494:pharmacology; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology; D006801:Humans; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular / Q000187:drug effects; D008954:Models, Biological; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000187:drug effects; D019000:Phosphotyrosine / Q000378:metabolism; D019408:Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D051076:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fyn / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D051575:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-yes / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D016392:Proto-Oncogene Proteins pp60(c-src) / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors
chemical_list: D002457:Cell Extracts; D003902:Detergents; D019408:Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D019000:Phosphotyrosine; D051076:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fyn; D051575:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-yes; D016392:Proto-Oncogene Proteins pp60(c-src)