title: RhoA goes GLOBAL.
abstract: Mechanical forces influence nearly all aspects of biology. Cells are equipped with numerous mechanosensitive proteins that activate various signaling cascades in response to mechanical cues from their environment. Much interest lies in understanding how cells respond to external stresses. A number of studies have highlighted the coordination of mechanical and chemical signaling cascades downstream of integrins. In recent years, the study of mechanotransduction has expanded to other mechanosensitive adhesion receptors, such as platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1). This commentary will highlight our current understanding of integrin and PECAM-1-mediated mechanotransduction and expand on the observation that a localized mechanical stress can elicit a global mechanosignaling response.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Caitlin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: Ellie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tzima
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D016023:Integrins / Q000378:metabolism*; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular / Q000502:physiology*; D019408:Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000502:physiology*; D020742:rhoA GTP-Binding Protein / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016023:Integrins; D019408:Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1; D020742:rhoA GTP-Binding Protein
keywords: PECAM-1; RhoA; cytoskeleton; focal adhesion; force; integrin; mechanotransduction