title: Molecular mechanisms of mechanotransduction in integrin-mediated cell-matrix adhesion.
abstract: Cell-matrix adhesion complexes are multi-protein structures linking the extracellular matrix (ECM) to the cytoskeleton. They are essential to both cell motility and function by bidirectionally sensing and transmitting mechanical and biochemical stimulations. Several types of cell-matrix adhesions have been identified and they share many key molecular components, such as integrins and actin-integrin linkers. Mechanochemical coupling between ECM molecules and the actin cytoskeleton has been observed from the single cell to the single molecule level and from immune cells to neuronal cells. However, the mechanisms underlying force regulation of integrin-mediated mechanotransduction still need to be elucidated. In this review article, we focus on integrin-mediated adhesions and discuss force regulation of cell-matrix adhesions and key adaptor molecules, three different force-dependent behaviors, and molecular mechanisms for mechanochemical coupling in force regulation.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Modeling and Simulation Group, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto 619-0215, Japan.
authors.forename: Zhenhai
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Wallace H Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.
authors.forename: Hyunjung
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Wallace H Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA; George W Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA. Electronic address: cheng.zhu@bme.gatech.edu.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D021982:Cell-Matrix Junctions / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D016023:Integrins; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular; D008954:Models, Biological
chemical_list: D016023:Integrins
keywords: Actin; Cell-matrix adhesion; Force regulation; Integrin; Mechanotransduction; Talin; Vinculin