by Keyword: Actin stress fibers
Pardo-Pastor, Carlos, Rubio-Moscardo, Fanny, Vogel-González, Marina, Serra, Selma A., Afthinos, Alexandros, Mrkonjic, Sanela, Destaing, Olivier, Abenza, Juan F., Fernández-Fernández, José M., Trepat, Xavier, Albiges-Rizo, Corinne, Konstantopoulos, Konstantinos, Valverde, Miguel A., (2018). Piezo2 channel regulates RhoA and actin cytoskeleton to promote cell mechanobiological responses Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 115, (8), 1925-1930 
The actin cytoskeleton is central to many cellular processes involving changes in cell shape, migration, and adhesiveness. Therefore, there is a great interest in the identification of the signaling pathways leading to the regulation of actin polymerization and assembly into stress fibers (SFs). However, to date it is not well understood how the mechanical interactions between cells and their environment activate the assembly of SFs. Here, we demonstrate that the mechanosensitive Piezo2 channel is required to sense physical cues from the environment to generate a calcium signal that maintains RhoA active and the formation and orientation of SFs and focal adhesions. Besides, this Piezo2-initiated signaling pathway has implications for different hallmarks of cancer invasion and metastasis.
JTD Keywords: Mechanotransduction, Calcium signaling, RhoA, Actin stress fibers, Cancer
Estevez, M., Fernandez-Ulibarri, I., Martinez, E., Egea, G., Samitier, J., (2010). Changes in the internal organization of the cell by microstructured substrates Soft Matter 6, (3), 582-590
Surface features at the micro and nanometre scale have been shown to influence and even determine cell behaviour and cytoskeleton organization through direct mechanotransductive pathways. Much less is known about the function and internal distribution of organelles of cells grown on topographically modified surfaces. In this study, the nanoimprint lithography technique was used to manufacture poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) sheets with a variety of features in the micrometre size range. Normal rat kidney (NRK) fibroblasts were cultured on these substrates and immunofluorescence staining assays were performed to visualize cell adhesion, the organization of the cytoskeleton and the morphology and subcellular positioning of the Golgi complex. The results show that different topographic features at the micrometric scale induce different rearrangements of the cell cytoskeleton, which in turn alter the positioning and morphology of the Golgi complex. Microposts and microholes alter the mechanical stability of the Golgi complex by modifying the actin cytoskeleton organization leading to the compaction of the organelle. These findings prove that physically modified surfaces are a valuable tool with which to study the dynamics of cell cytoskeleton organization and its subsequent repercussion on internal cell organization and associated function.
JTD Keywords: Actin stress fibers, Golgi-complex, Focal adhesions, Cytoskeletal organization, Osteoblast adhesion, Mammalian-cells, Micron-scale, Nanoscale, Dynamics, Rho
