Chemical and physical properties of the environment control cell proliferation, differentiation,
or apoptosis in the long term. However, to be able to move and migrate through a complex …

The linkage of cells to their microenvironment is mediated by a series of bonds that
dynamically engage and disengage, in what has been conceptualized as the molecular …

Mechanosensing describes the ability of a cell to sense mechanical cues of its
microenvironment, including not only all components of force, stress, and strain but also …

Abstract Development, regeneration and cancer involve drastic transitions in tissue
morphology. In analogy with the behaviour of inert fluids, some of these transitions have …

Generation of a barrier in multi-layered epithelia like the epidermis requires restricted
positioning of functional tight junctions (TJ) to the most suprabasal viable layer. This …

Extensive studies have shown that cells can sense and modulate the biomechanical
properties of the ECM within their resident microenvironment. Thus, targeting the …

Cell adhesion systems are defined by their ability to resist detachment force. Our
understanding of the biology of cell–cell adhesions has recently been transformed by the …

Extensive research over the past decades has identified integrins to be the primary
transmembrane receptors that enable cells to respond to external mechanical cues. We …

Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) has been recognized as a critical regulator in
various physiological and pathological processes. Extensive research has elucidated the …

Adherens junctions (AJs) and desmosomes connect the actin and keratin filament networks
of adjacent cells into a mechanical unit. Whereas AJs function in mechanosensing and in …