Cellular Mechanics and Interactions

Volume regulation of cancer cells during osmotic pressure variation

This study compares how cancer and normal cells respond to osmotic pressure changes, finding cancer cells recover volume and traction forces more slowly under hypotonic conditions.

Matrix stiffness and stress relaxation regulate osteogenesis through histone demethylases KDM4B and KDM6B

This study shows that matrix stiffness and stress relaxation influence osteogenesis by regulating histone demethylases KDM4B and KDM6B through mechanotransduction signaling.

Transient cytoskeletal anisotropy encodes short-term mechanical memory

This study shows that glioblastoma cells use transient cytoskeletal anisotropy to encode short-term mechanical memory, revealing how cancer cells adapt to mechanical stress.

Motor activity of nonmuscle myosin 2A is a key component of bipolar filament turnover in cells

This study identifies NM2A motor activity as a key component of bipolar filament depolymerization, working with tail-dependent mechanisms to enable NM2A turnover and NM2B reorganization in cells.

Static mechanical stretch induces collective alignment of C2C12 myoblasts

This study shows static mechanical stretch causes collective alignment of C2C12 myoblasts, with dense cultures aligning more robustly than sparse ones due to cellular forces and intercellular interactions.

Control of cellular cortical tension and shape by RhoGTPase signalling

This study quantifies how RhoGTPase signalling controls cortical tension and cell shape using optogenetics and develops a predictive model linking signal gradients to mechanical changes.

Mechanical Stiffening Promotes Growth, Invasion, and Mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) Inhibitor Resistance in 3D Plexiform Neurofibroma Cultures

This study shows that stiff extracellular matrix promotes growth, invasion, and MEK inhibitor resistance in pNF1 tumors.

Spatiotemporal Patterns of Active Deformation Reveal Downregulation of Cell-Cell Adhesion in Patient-Derived Colorectal Cancer Organoids with BRAF Mutation

This study shows that BRAF-mutated colorectal cancer organoids have reduced elasticity and increased viscosity, linked to decreased cell-cell adhesion and potential therapeutic implications.

Temperature-sensitive cortical condensation modulates mechano-response at Tricellular Junctions

The paper shows that temperature-sensitive cortical condensation of Canoe/Afadin modulates mechanosensitivity at tricellular junctions during cell division.

Membrane Tension Integrates Physical and Signaling Cues to Gate Cell Fate Transitions

This paper identifies cell membrane tension as a regulator of epithelial fate transitions in the lung, showing it integrates physical and signaling cues to control AT1 and AT2 cell differentiation.

Sec23b regulates cell migration by orchestrating collagen I secretion and processing.

The paper identifies Sec23b as a regulator of cell migration by controlling collagen I secretion and processing through a proteomic-based assay.

Mechanotranscriptomic Profiling of Breast Cancer Cells Intravasated from Engineered Microtumors

This study investigates transcriptomic and biomechanical changes in breast cancer cells during intravasation by comparing cells in microtumors to released cells, finding increased YAP/TAZ signaling and malignant markers in released cells.

Adipose-mimetic granular hydrogels uncover biophysical cues driving breast cancer invasion

This study uses adipose-mimetic hydrogels to show that soft mechanical cues from adipocytes enhance breast cancer cell invasion by altering ECM structure and cellular confinement.

Vertically Integrated System for Tracking and Assessing cell-cycle aware phenotypes under confinement

This paper introduces a system to simultaneously track cell migration and cell-cycle phases under confinement, revealing CC-migration correlations and confinement effects on cell behavior.

Disentangling the interplay between cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions in cancer cell migration

This study combines experimental and computational approaches to understand how cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions influence cancer cell invasion and metastasis.

Spatial Mechanomics for Tissue-Scale Biomechanical Mapping and Multi-omics Integration

This paper introduces spatial mechanomics to map biomechanical properties across tissues and integrates them with multi-omics data, revealing distinct mechanical states in murine myocardial tissue.

Volumetric mechanosensing of CAF in 3D hydrogels drive altered drug response in breast cancer

This study shows that 3D matrix stiffness affects CAF morphology and drug response in breast cancer by altering mechanotransduction and transcriptional programs.

Unified Transcriptome and Mechanics Map of the Intact Mammalian Preimplantation Embryo In Situ

This paper introduces UTMM, a method to simultaneously measure transcriptomes and mechanical properties in intact embryos, revealing coupling between RNA expression and intracellular compliance during early development.

Mechanochemical feedback between confinement and actin crosslinking drives the shape dynamics of liquid-like droplets

This study shows how mechanochemical feedback between confinement and actin crosslinking controls droplet shape and actin organization through dynamic relationships between bundling and deformation.

A non-canonical role for Jagged1 in endothelial mechanotransduction

This study identifies a non-canonical role for Jagged1 in regulating mechanosensitive kinase activity in endothelial cells under mechanical stress.

Nanoscale organization of betaII-spectrin within segments of the membrane-associated periodic skeleton in mouse sciatic nerve axons

This study uses super-resolution microscopy to reveal the nanoscale organization of betaII-spectrin in mouse sciatic nerve axons, showing discrete clusters with specific spacing and density.

Restoring mechanophenotype reverts malignant properties of ECM-enriched vocal fold cancer

This study shows that restoring mechanophenotype or targeting YAP/TAZ can reverse malignant properties of vocal fold cancer by reducing nuclear YAP and β-catenin levels.

Dynamics of single cell-cell junctions as an indicator of cell state switch

The paper develops a physical model of cell-cell junctions to study hybrid E/M states during EMT, revealing mechanochemical landscapes and identifying differences in mechanosensitivity between cadherin isoforms.

Mechanosensing and IL-13 Signaling Synergistically Modulate Intestinal Stem Cell Differentiation via STAT6 and YAP

This study shows that mechanosensing and IL-13 signaling work together through STAT6 and YAP to control intestinal stem cell differentiation and barrier function in fibrosis.

Extracellular stiffness regulates cell fate determination and drives the emergence of evolutionary novelty in teleost heart

The paper shows that extracellular stiffness regulates cell fate in the teleost heart, with elastin b conferring low stiffness to the bulbus arteriosus, driving evolutionary novelty.

Adenocarcinoma cell mechanobiology is altered by the loss modulus of the surrounding extracellular matrix

This study investigates how viscoelastic properties of extracellular matrix affect adenocarcinoma cell migration and focal adhesion formation using tunable model substrates.

Basement membrane mechanics drives patterned response to developmental signalling

This study shows basement membrane mechanics regulate the spatial response to BMP4 in hPSCs and mouse embryos, disrupting gastrulation patterning when mechanics are altered.

Agent-Based Model Replication of Global Treadmilling and Competition in the Actin Polymerization System

The paper presents an agent-based model of actin polymerization dynamics that replicates key in vitro processes and patterns like global treadmilling and competition between nucleation and elongation.

FHOD3 and DIAPH3 control cell migration and differentially shift the balance of parallel and perpendicular stress fibers

This study identifies FHOD3 and DIAPH3 as regulators of stress fiber orientation and cell migration, showing they control distinct F-actin networks that influence cell shape and motility.

The Interaction with Nanotopographical Environment regulates nuclear mechanoresponse in mESCs via Histone Demethylase KDM3A

This study shows that nanotopography regulates pluripotency in mESCs by altering chromatin state through the mechanosensitive demethylase KDM3A.