title: Cell mechanics: a dialogue.
abstract: Under the microscope, eukaryotic animal cells can adopt a variety of different shapes and sizes. These cells also move and deform, and the physical mechanisms driving these movements and shape changes are important in fundamental cell biology, tissue mechanics, as well as disease biology. This article reviews some of the basic mechanical concepts in cells, emphasizing continuum mechanics description of cytoskeletal networks and hydrodynamic flows across the cell membrane. We discuss how cells can generate movement and shape changes by controlling mass fluxes at the cell boundary. These mass fluxes can come from polymerization/depolymerization of actin cytoskeleton, as well as osmotic and hydraulic pressure-driven flow of water across the cell membrane. By combining hydraulic pressure control with force balance conditions at the cell surface, we discuss a quantitative mechanism of cell shape and volume control. The broad consequences of this model on cell mechanosensation and tissue mechanics are outlined.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD, United States of America. Physical Sciences in Oncology Center, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jiaxiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.forename: Yizeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Dhruv K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Vig
authors.forename: Sean X
authors.initials: SX
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology; D002468:Cell Physiological Phenomena; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014867:Water