title: Mechanotransduction: feeling the squeeze in the C. elegans reproductive system.
abstract: A new study reports that the RhoGAP SPV-1 senses membrane curvature and cell stretch in the Caenorhabditis elegans spermatheca. Without SPV-1, the cells of the spermatheca are hypercontractile, leading to deformation and rapid ejection of the fertilized eggs. The spermatheca may provide a paradigm for understanding how cells detect mechanical stimuli in vivo.
authors.affiliation: 134Mugar Life Sciences, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: e.cram@neu.edu.
authors.forename: Erin J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Cram
mesh_terms: D000205:Actomyosin / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D020690:GTPase-Activating Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular; D020741:rho GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D020690:GTPase-Activating Proteins; D000205:Actomyosin; D020741:rho GTP-Binding Proteins