Musculoskeletal mechanobiology: interpretation by external force and engineered substratum.
Mechanobiology aims to discover how the mechanical environment affects the biological activity of cells and how cells' ability to sense these mechanical cues is converted into elicited cellular responses. Musculoskeletal mechanobiology is of particular interest given the high mechanical loads that musculoskeletal tissues experience on a daily basis. How do cells within these mechanically active tissues interpret external loads imposed on their extracellular environment, and, how are cell-substrate interactions converted into biochemical signals? This review outlines many of the main mechanotransduction mechanisms known to date, and describes recent literature examining effects of both external forces and cell-substrate interactions on musculoskeletal cells. Whether via application of external forces and/or cell-substrate interactions, our understanding and regulation of musculoskeletal mechanobiology can benefit by expanding upon traditional models, and shedding new light through novel investigative approaches. Current and future work in this field is focused on identifying specific forces, stresses, and strains at the cellular and tissue level through both experimental and computational approaches, and analyzing the role of specific proteins through fluorescence-based investigations and knockdown models.
McCullen
Seth D
SD
Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, 2142 Burlington Laboratories, Campus Box 7115, Raleigh, NC 27695-7115, USA.
Haslauer
Carla M
CM
Loboa
Elizabeth G
EG
D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013718:Tensile Strength
D009569:Nitric Oxide; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate