Taher Saif | Dr Andrew Holle – Mechanobiology – Exploring the Mechanics of Cell Behaviour

Jun 6, 2023 | biology, health and medicine

About this episode

Extracellular biophysical cues have a profound influence on a wide range of cell behaviors, including growth, motility, differentiation, apoptosis, gene expression, adhesion, and signal transduction. Cells not only respond to definitively mechanical cues from the extracellular matrix (ECM) but can also sometimes alter the mechanical properties of the matrix and hence influence subsequent matrix-based cues in both physiological and pathological processes. Interactions between cells and materials in vitro can modify cell phenotype and ECM structure, whether intentionally or inadvertently. Interactions between cell and matrix mechanics in vivo are of particular importance in a wide variety of disorders, including cancer, central nervous system injury, fibrotic diseases, and myocardial infarction. Both the in vitro and in vivo effects of this coupling between mechanics and biology hold important implications for clinical applications.

Original Article Reference

Summary of the papers ‘Cell–Extracellular Matrix Mechanobiology: Forceful Tools and Emerging Needs for Basic and Translational Research’ from Nano Letters https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.7b04982 

Contact

For further information, you can connect with Professor Taher Saif at saif@illinois.edu 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Creative Commons License

What does this mean?

Share: You can copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format

Adapt: You can change, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.

Credit: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.

Increase The Impact Of Your Research!

More episodes

Dr Yvonne Böttcher | How Different Types of Fat Shape Health and Disease

Our bodies store fat in different places. Subcutaneous fat sits just under the skin – this is the fat you can pinch....

Dr Rita Petracca | The Tiny Chemical Tag That Could Change How We Fight Disease

Proteins are the working parts of our cells, built from long chains of building blocks called amino acids. But once a...

Dr. Gary Blau – Dr. Kyle Stephens | More Support, Less Surveillance: Exploring What Keeps Employees Engaged

Researchers have traditionally measured what they called ‘employee workplace deviance’ through visible, in-person...

Cockroach Milk: Understanding Nature’s Weirdest Superfood

It started, as good science often does, with someone noticing something weird. A decade before ‘cockroach milk’ made...

Dr Ádám Soós | Revealing the Secret Map Inside Birds That Guides Immune Cells

Deep inside a developing bird’s body, an unassuming organ is hard at work building a sophisticated immune system....

Bartley Madden – Douglas Stevens | Michael Jensen: The Economist Who Tried to Fix Capitalism Twice

Few economists have had as much influence on modern business as Michael Jensen. His ideas transformed corporate...