title: Focal adhesions, stress fibers and mechanical tension.
abstract: Stress fibers and focal adhesions are complex protein arrays that produce, transmit and sense mechanical tension. Evidence accumulated over many years led to the conclusion that mechanical tension generated within stress fibers contributes to the assembly of both stress fibers themselves and their associated focal adhesions. However, several lines of evidence have recently been presented against this model. Here we discuss the evidence for and against the role of mechanical tension in driving the assembly of these structures. We also consider how their assembly is influenced by the rigidity of the substratum to which cells are adhering. Finally, we discuss the recently identified connections between stress fibers and the nucleus, and the roles that these may play, both in cell migration and regulating nuclear function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, 12-016 Lineberger, CB#7295, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. Electronic address: Keith_Burridge@med.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Burridge
authors.affiliation: Inserm UMR_S1087, CNRS UMR_C6291, L'institut du Thorax, and Université de Nantes, Nantes, France. Electronic address: christophe.guilluy@univ-nantes.fr.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guilluy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D022001:Focal Adhesions / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D022502:Stress Fibers / Q000502:physiology*; D013314:Stress, Mechanical
keywords: Integrins; Myosin II; RhoA; Substratum rigidity